Angel of Anarchy
by SadisticDemongyrl
Summary: With the sign of anarchy tattooed forever on her arm, Raphael Aisuru was always labeled as a rebel. But with the way she acted, that label was more than appropriate. But Gray Fullbuster saw her as the sexy badass who's passion gets in the way of her reasoning. Can he learn to love this devil of mischief even if he knows her dark past? Gray
1. Chapter 1

Everyone is born covered in the blood of their mother's womb. I was covered in lots of it. My father always talked about how much my mother was there for him and my brother, and how excited she was when she found out she was having me. Though I doubt that she knew she was going to give birth to a demon. Well just to clear things up I'm not _really _a demon. My form of magic just makes me out to be like one. Anyway, my mother died a few months after I was born and that's when my father and brother took it in their hands to protect me. We moved _a lot _since she died, and ever since, staying in one place for a while never felt quite right.

Since she died before I could even learn how to retain my memory, I never really felt sad when I thought about my mom. Sure I was a bit jealous of the other girls with their moms, but I had my dad and my brother, Ezekiel. My father, Kenta, was the one who taught us magic. But I was the one who took it more seriously. Because of the type of magic I use, my father taught me how to become one with it. My magic is rare and beautiful, was what he'd always told me. 'Just like your mother', he'd say. I had raven black hair like my father and Ezekiel had dark chocolate brown hair, like my mother. We both had her eyes though even if Ezekiel's were violet and mine's a more violet red color. Anyway, on the anniversary of my mom's death, my father always sat in silence. It wasn't depressing silence or awkward silence, just silence. It drove my brother crazy, so he'd always take me out some where secluded to spar with him. At first, sparing with my brother was like betting a fight you know you'll lose. But the older I got, the stronger I grew, and then it became fun to kick my brother's ass.

When I said we moved a lot, it wasn't because my family was the adventurous type. No, my father was like the Robin Hood of wizards. He did his own thing. And in this process, he gained a lot of enemies. I always hid in the safety of the arms of my brother as we watched our father fight. What amazed me was how my father could draw so much blood, and yet, not shed a drop of his own. He didn't kill them, else that would draw us attention from the Magic Council. No, if my father's enemies died, it was because they couldn't get help in time, not because of him. Kenta Aisuru was not a killer. To make sure we could defend ourselves, my father taught us magic. Specifically for me, Morphomagus blood magic. And it was called that because this magic had to be passed down in the family. Which is why it's so rare and why I got lucky. Not only is Morphomagus blood magic rare, it isn't exactly hereditary. For one thing it isn't passed down through every generation or else everyone would have it. It also doesn't really skip generations. I think I remember dad telling me how anyone born to possess the power of Morphomagus meant that they had taken a piece of that magic from whichever parent possessed it first.

Possessing this magic wasn't something easy to handle. It's supposed to be a form of one of the most powerful magics in all of the world. It is also very dangerous to have. Most Morphomagus wizards were part of dark guilds. But my father was never part of a guild. He believed that all the rules that a guild held would hold back the potential of his magic use. Plus, mom apparently didn't like the idea of him going on quests and leaving for weeks or even months at a time. But it still wasn't something to play with. Using this magic meant that you had the power to literally drain your opponent of the blood in their body. Which is what makes my magic illegal in other parts of the world. Some Morphomagus wizards were even powerful enough to crush a person's heart from the outside. You could say it's like marionette magic, but much, much darker.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

It was or rather _is _hard being me. For one thing, if you use your magic to the full extent everyone is automatically afraid of you. I've never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, but believe me when I say _lots_ of people deserved it. Some even deserved to die. Whenever my brother was angry, he'd channel his anger through magic, and generally took it out on some of the wizards that were after my dad. They _always_ made me hide away somewhere. Before my magic was strong enough, I would always cover my ears so I wouldn't be able to hear the screams and groans of the wizards in pain. In some situations, I cried. I may have been born in Fiore, but I've traveled half the world. My father always said that a person with a wide range of experience and lessons can always become a successful wizard. Which is exactly what I wanted to be. Except my dream was to become strong enough to protect my loved ones, not having them protect me. It was always like that. Always…..

*FLASHBACK*

_I ran as fast as my little legs would take me. I tried to catch up with Ezekiel, I really did. But my small body couldn't take it anymore, so I tripped and fell. _"_Ezekiel!" I screamed. "Ezekiel!" But he never heard me. Someone did. And they grabbed me, covering my eyes so I couldn't see who they were. I wanted to scream for help, but for some reason this person made me feel safe. We kept running. Suddenly he'd put me down. I wanted to thank him but all he did was leave me a small black bag and when I opened it…_

_"Raphael!" I heard someone call. "Raphael! Where are you?" It was Daddy._

_"Daddy! Daddy!" I yelled. "Daddy I'm over here!" I watched as he ran toward me and scooped me up in his arms. For some reason, I started crying._

_"Where's your brother?" he asked. " I told him to protect you_," _and I could tell he was angry._

_"Oh Daddy," I pleaded. "Please don't get mad at Ezekiel! It was my fault. I couldn't keep up, but some strange man grabbed me and he brought me here and gave me this…." I told him, holding up my hand that was clutching the small black bag._

_"A strange man?" he asked and so on our way to our little house, I told him what had happened. "There's something really pretty in the bag too Daddy!" I told him. "And just what exactly could have been in that bag that made it so…." but he stopped his sentence as he looked in the bag. " What's inside, what's inside?" Ezekiel continuously asked, but when Dad took out whatever was in the bag, he stopped talking too._

_It was a choker necklace. It was black leather with chains hanging from it that looped back to a group of blood red rubies formed to look like a blooming rose. It was the most beautiful thing I'd seen. I looked at my father, then to Ezekiel, and back at the necklace. I didn't understand why they'd stopped talking. Was it because the beauty of the choker rendered them speechless?_

_"Daddy why aren't you or Ezekiel talking?" I asked. I heard Ezekiel murmur something, but then Dad told him to hush. "Don't be rude to your sister. Obviously she wouldn't know why we aren't talking or what this choker's significance is. Don't forget, you're still being punished for running off without her."_

_"Daddy what's going on? What's so important about that necklace?" I asked, this time concern in my voice. Was it cursed? Would it possess whomever wore it, turning them into a slave of the darkness? There were so many things I wanted to ask, so many things I wanted to say, but my dad saw the look on my face and answered all my questions with just one._

_"It was your mother's" he said quietly. And then I knew. The pain it cost daddy to see something belonging to my mother was so great, he couldn't even speak of it._

*END FLASHBACK*

I touched mom's choker as the memory of that day ran through my mind. We didn't talk about who grabbed me, but then later dropped me. Ezekiel didn't even get punishment for leaving me that day. All we did was stare at the choker and try to remember memories that we had of my mother. Well, everyone except me that is. It was on this day that I realized that I didn't know my mother at all. I think I'm kind of glad for it too. Not the whole her dying part, but the fact that I can't remember her at all is what makes me glad. Remembering her would just make me even more down.

Morphomagus wizards usually have to have a binding spell with one of the 7 spirits. There were the snake, the wolf, the tiger, the hawk, the bear, the lion, and the boar. They all had special names that we wizards would call them, but I only knew 3. Daddy had a Scarlet Bear that died protecting him. That's what the binding spell does. It connects the souls of the spirit and the wizard, binding them, together forever until one dies. I vowed to never have myself in a situation where my spirit would have to die for me or me for it. It wouldn't be fair to either of us. Do you know why we need these spirit animals? Because our magic requires them. It is too strong a force for the normal human body to handle, and just exactly what would we do with all that blood?

We gave it to the spirits. It made their fur coats glossier and more vibrant. It gave them energy and power. However for me, when Rogue consumed the blood, I felt the energy run through my veins, like an instant rush of life. Rogue is my spirit animal. He was a snake. A Blood Viper is what wizards would call him. They are said to be the most darkest of all the spirits, but never once has Rogue ever tried to poison my mind with thoughts of evil. Even if the scarlet tattoo of some complicated ritualistic mark surrounding the sign of anarchy is on my left arm, showing that I am bound to him for life, I am the master. Even if he is strong enough to kill me with one hit, I will only do what I want to do. Just like my father.

The chokers… they kept coming. Though I saw no mysterious figure lurking around our many homes, they would always show up. There were red ones, and blue, violet and silver, emerald and ribbon. There were many styles. Some were flowers made entirely out of jewels. Others would be decorated with many gothic designs. I kept them all. At first my father was hesitant to let me wear them for, he feared it would remind him too much of my mother. But eventually, he got over it. He thought that I deserved something of hers if not any memory of her whatsoever. There was one in particular however, that I remembered he _really_ didn't want me to have. But not for the reasons I thought.

*FLASHBACK*

_"But why not Daddy?" I asked begging to be allowed to wear one of mom's hot chokers. It was black with white lace that bordered the top and bottom of the choker. It had chains that cascaded about 5-inches down the neck and ended with_ _5 ruby drops of blood. On the choker, two ruby dots that were meant to the bite marks stood out like white lights in the dead of night on the black part of the choker. It described everything I was._

_My father was hesitant to give an answer and Ezekiel sniggered. "What's so funny?" I asked glaring at him. He was always putting his two cents in whenever Dad and I got in heated debates. In my mind I always told myself it was for attention. _

_"Just that Dad's the one who gave Mom that one. Let's see I think I remember….. ah yes! It was the day __**after **__their wedding anniversary and Mom was really pissed. Probably because __**someone**__ forgot. So Dad went out to get something Mom really loved. A choker. And it had to be something that represented everything Mom and Dad were. 10 minutes after he got back and presented her with a gift, I was immediately sent over to a neighbor's house for overnight where later that night or maybe even immediately after, __**you**__ were conceived."_

_"Ezekiel!" I shouted. "That's so gross! Thanks for that image that I can __**never**__ erase from my mind." Then I looked at Dad who had a slight pink blush on his face. I widened my eyes at him."Eeeww! Dad really? Is that why I can't have it because it's what mom wore the night you two… __**made**__ me?" I asked him. Why was I cursed to know these things?_

_"Yes it's true that's what she wore when you were conceived, but I actually don't want you to wear it because of what it represents. The choker is basically a vampire bite with it's victim's blood running down its neck. I am a Morphomagus wizard. I control the blood within others. And your mother loved chokers. Do you get it now?" _

_"Yes I do which is exactly why you should let me have it. I'm a Morphomagus wizard just like you. I'm pretty like mom was just like you keep saying. I'm everything that choker's about. A combination of you and mom. Hello I was made while she was wearing that. It's practically my birth right" Dad looked down at the table for a bit, like he was thinking. If he doesn't let me have this so help me God…._

_"Alright", he finally said. " You can have it seeming as if your mother were here, she would give it to you instantly." I ran around the table to give him big hug. Just then I heard Ezekiel sniggering. _

_"What's so funny this time?" I asked annoyed. I already know what the choker's all about why is he still laughing?_

_"Mom only wore chokers 'cause Dad gave her really huge hickeys-" But he didn't get to finish his sentence because Dad had thrown his shoe at him. And I could not stop laughing._

*END FLASHBACK*

I giggled a bit, remembering that day as one the funniest days of my life with my family. But now, all I have is Rogue and frankly, he's all I need at the moment. My brother… he wasn't as lucky as I was. He wasn't born with Morphomagus blood magic. Instead, he's more of a spell-binder. Like I said before, he never really took having the ability to use magic as seriously as I did. He was more into physical fighting and weaponry. And boy is he pretty good. Our father had taught us how to fight with or without magic. He taught Ezekiel how to use a bow and arrow and how to set up a crossbow. When I got Rogue, he taught me how to shape one of his fangs into a dagger that I now keep inside my right boot at all times. Ezekiel may not have been special in a magical way, but he was always special to my father and I. No matter what, my father loved us both.

But when I was 14, Dad got sick. And then… he died. In his will, he'd left all this money, including my mom's money, to us. We split it 50/50. I don't quite remember questioning where exactly my father got all this money. He never really had a steady job and I'm pretty sure he didn't become a Morphomagus wizard for hire. But that didn't really matter at the time. I was officially an orphan, living with her older brother. Our lives slowly turned back to normal as we gradually got over Dad's death. We moved into a house, back in Fiore and Ezekiel got a job to provide for us. He'd argued that I was too cute to go out working with lecherous men lurking around.

*FLASHBACK*

_"I will not be held responsible when I have to kick some guy's ass for grabbing at my sister's butt. You are a teenage girl. The hormones inside tour body are running wild around inside there. You're growing breasts and your figure's coming out nicely-"_

_"What the hell!" I screamed. " You're talking about lecherous men lurking around? __**You're **__the one who's lecherous! Pervert!" I wanted to throw my shoe at him like Dad always did. That usually knocked some sense into him._

_"I'm sorry that I can't compliment the wonderful features of my cute little sister. Besides, my friends think I can't hear them when they say stuff like that about you. It's hard just standing by and __**not**__ doing anything but they're my friends" He explained. His friends think I'm hot? Does that mean __**he**__ does too?_

_"Which friends? And just what exactly are they saying about me?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible. Ezekiel raised an eyebrow, but answered me this time._

_"You know. Leo, Aiden, Michael,… and Aaron. They say stuff about how you have a nice butt when you bend over to pick stuff up and how they can really see more of your boobs when you lean over the table." I was furiously blushing red now. Aaron thinks I'm hot? He's like what 18? And __**he **__thinks __**I'm**__ hot? I wanted to squeal with glee, but with Ezekiel right there that would've been very awkward._

_"Whatever", I mumbled. "Boys are such perverted creatures."_

*END FLASHBACK*

I put my hand over my mouth as I remembered Aaron. My first… everything. I remembered his perfectly tan skin and the way his dark chocolate eyes seem to smile when he looked at me. He had sandy colored hair and his voice was deep. When…when Ezekiel left me all alone, Aaron was there. He comforted me until I stopped crying in shock. Then, when we were on his couch, talking about Ezekiel, he leaned over and kissed me. He was waiting for me to pull back, to say "No". But I didn't. I remember wrapping my arms around his neck and loving the way it felt when his tongue was exploring every part of my mouth. I remember feeling hot around my ears and neck, and in a haze, we were in his room. So on the night Ezekiel had disappeared on me, Aaron had made love to me and took my virginity.

Aaron and I loved each other very much, but I didn't love him as much as he loved me. Because after what I did, I don't know how someone could still love someone who has broken their heart. I didn't break Aaron's heart. No I stomped on it. After that, any guy I was with didn't really last long. Not that I cared. For me, love just slows you down. And after what I've been through, I don't believe in love anymore. Now, all have to care about is Rogue, and paying my rent.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was in the city of Wistler that I met Master Makarov. Well, technically, he'd tracked me down. I was busy taking care of the last few bits and pieces of a request that the city had made. It was to get rid of an annoying dark wizard who to me, wasn't much of a threat. I find it hilarious when I ask for the money they are shocked to find I'm not part of any guild. Some of them have even refused me, so I do a little persuading (use my magic), and they give me whatever I want. When I use my magic on them, it's usually just like marionette magic except, when they describe to their friends how it felt to be… manipulated like that, the say that it felt like they were drying up from the inside. I'm never really apologetic for much so honestly, I couldn't care less.

Anyway this wizard, Nazeah he said his name was, would terrorize these people. He was like the town drunk except he actually harassed people for money to go to the local bars. Before that, he was like a loan a shark. When people didn't pay him on time, he used his magic to torture them and make their lives a living hell. Hey, I'm all for torture, but only if the right people are the ones endearing it. This guy tortured everyone. He even tried to loan me some money a couple times because I looked 'down on my luck'. I found his pity for me rude and annoying, so I asked around and took it upon myself to kick this guy's ass and take that money.

Master Makarov showed up in the forest clearing where I was finishing up on Nazeah. He was such a weak level dark wizard. He thought because he performed dark magic he didn't need to be any stronger. It doesn't matter what kind of wizard you are. You should try to make your magic as strong as possible and use it when the time is right.

This was just too easy. I should just finish up and drain this guy. Rogue's been looking a bit dull.

"Come on Nazeah!" I shouted. He was on the ground and wouldn't get up.

"Is that really all you got for me?" I asked, mocking him. " And you say you're such a great dark wizard. You're nothing but a **punk**."

He started rise when I said that. So what if he's pissed? I like doing that to makes it easier to fight and maybe even… dispose of them. He raised his hand and shot a few spells at me, but I dodged them instantly without trying much. Okay, I'm done playing games. This is so boring.

"Rogue," I called, and he slithered toward me. I whispered the incantation that my dad had taught me:

_Spirit of my heart_

_Spirit of my mind_

_Lend me your magic in which we shall bind_

_My blood and your blood_

_Connected for eternity_

Both Rogue and I were bathed in red light as he transformed into a huge blood red scythe. It was made up entirely of his beautiful scales.

"Now," I said, "This game ends." I ran towards him with my Rogue scythe and slashed continuously at him. Nazeah coward in fear. Obviously he's never seen anything like me before.

"What's wrong?" I mockingly asked. " Morphomagus wizard got your tongue?"

"You're a monster!" he screamed. "A monster!"

"Aww. That really hurts me you know? But I'm not a monster," I said setting down Rogue where he immediately turned back into a snake. I took my stance and held out my arm.

"I'm a **demon**," and I moved my fingers in a slow motion twist,turned my hand into a fist, and pulled. Nazaeh stopped and to anyone else, it would've looked like he was being suffocated. He was taking in deep breaths but it was no use. I was drawing his blood from his veins, and eventually he became nothing but a dry husk of man. I gave the blood to Rogue who'd retained his shiny scales and gotten energy back after that transformation.

Rogue was giving me a look, like he really wanted something, which I already knew.

I rolled my eyes and said,"You can eat the body. What else are we gonna do with it?" And I watched with very little disgust as he devoured the body of Nazeah the low level dark wizard.

"Did you really have to kill him?" a voice asked. I jumped immediately into a defensive stance. "Who's there?" I called out.

Suddenly, a little old man wearing an orange jacket, orange pants, and a cute little blue and orange Joker hat. His t-shirt was white with a weird symbol on it. Then I knew: He was part of a guild. He walked up to me and looked at me intriguingly, as if we'd met before. His incredible shortness made it a bit hard to not want to scoop him up and squish him in my arms, but he was an old man and I'm a young woman. He could take it the wrong way.

"Umm…. can I help you?" I asked. He finally stopped circling me like a vulture and smiled. He _smiled_ at me!

"You know," he said, " Your magic is illegal here in this country." I froze. Yeah and? Is this old man gonna snitch or something? He kept talking.

"Don't worry I won't tell and that's not what I'm here for anyway,"

"The why _are _you here? I don't even know who you are," I asked confused. Was this midget old man crazy?

"Don't you remember me?" he asked, but then he saw the look on my face and continued. "Of course you don't. I'm an old family friend. I use to play with you when you were very young, Raphael."

Hold on. This guy knows my _name_? But I don't remember him at all. I know Dada had a lot of old friends but…. who _is _this guy?

"Prove it. If you knew my Dad then why is my name Raphael, an obvious boy's name?" I asked. Now I had him. No one but my family, and my Dad's friends who visited knew that reason.

"Your parents honestly had no idea if you were a girl or a boy. Obviously picking out a unisex name was just too conventional for them, being the people they were and all. So they picked out the name _Raphael_ because your mom thought that was such a nice name for a boy and your father, being the fool that he was, thought that it'd be so cool to have a daughter with a non unisex name."

I couldn't keep my jaw from hanging so low. This guy was really the _real deal_. So then what does he want? Raise me as the daughter he never had as some kind of promise to my parents or something? Find me, then include me in his will as his remaining kin so I can get more money? I'm sorry but this little old man does not look like he'll last long.

"So then…. why are you looking for me?" I asked. He smiled at me and then cleared his throat to begin his story.

"I promised your father that in the event that he died, I would take you and your brother with me back to my guild, where you would join and be safe. Where you would finally have a family. You especially would bee able to use your powers as much as you wish when you needed them. So then, where's your brother?"

Couldn't this old man tell? All I had was Rogue. My family was gone. Forever. And there's nothing I or anyone else can do to change that. So yeah where is Ezekiel? Why did he abandon his 17 year-old sister in a house all by herself? Why didn't he take her with him? Did he even care how she- I mean how would _I_ feel?

"Ezekiel left me," I said as quietly as possible. "I haven't seen him in 4 years." The old man looked like he wanted to hug me, but judging by his extreme shortness, all he would seriously be able to do is hug my calves.

"Foolish boy", he mumbled. "Leaving you alone like that. He knew this is what your father wantedand he ran away. So this means you're all on your own?" he asked.

"No I have Rogue", I answered, gesturing to Rogue as he finished off the remaining parts of Nazeah. Makarov looked like he wanted to faint, but he kept his composure to be polite.

"What guild are you part of anyway? Your Guild Master said it was okay for you to take a personal quest?" I asked. When I think about, I thought Makarov would've been the first member of whatever guild he's part of considering he's so old.

Makarov laughed then said, "**I'm **guild master of Fairy Tail. I can do whatever I please. Anyone can recruit guild members, but I find it more special if the Master does it." So this little old man is the Guild Master of the legendary Fairy Tail? And he was friends with my dad? Damn.

"Okay", I said. This has got to be the strangest thing in my life. Actually not possible considering everything in my life is strange.

"Okay what?" he asked confused.

"I'll join your guild. For the sake of my dad and because this place _sucks_. I don't have to live…. you know… at my old house?" I'm never setting foot in that place again. That house sits there waiting for the owners to come back, just like how I waited for Ezekiel to come back. But he never did.

"You can live wherever you please", he said, "So long as you come to the Guildhall once in awhile to take requests. And make friends." Ugh. So I have to play nice to the other kids? That's no fun _at all._ But I guess it would be easier than _not_ having friends. This could be good for me. Not having to fight with villagers might lose its touch a bit but I'll get used to it.

So after collecting my money from the people of Wistler from getting rid of Nazeah (I told them he ran away), I packed my stuff and Rogue and I were escorted by Makarov to the city of Magnolia in Fiore. I didn't think coming back would be so easy as it was. I expected all the memories to come flooding back into my mind and then I would have some kind of spaz attack about it. But really nothing happened until we got to the East Forest. Not far from here, is an old orange yellow house with a green roof. By now it must be suffocating from the crazy vines that crawl all over it if you don't trim it properly. I closed my eyes in order to calm myself down from refusing to take any step further. Rogue had noticed this and took a break with me.

_"Are you okay mistress?" _ I heard his voice ask inside my head. He was concerned about me, and whenever Rogue worried about me his first instinct was to protect me, something I've always disliked about the bind between us.

"It's okay Rogue," I murmured so Makarov wouldn't hear. "I'm fine".

Rogue gave me a look that told me he didn't believe me. I gave him an even stronger look back and he slithered on. When we finally arrived in Magnolia, I'd noticed that there was a train we could've taken _all the way _ instead of partway, then taking a boat down a wide river, and then walking the rest of the way. This screwy old man…

"So you mean to tell me we could've _stayed_ on the train?" I asked, pissed.

"Yes, but a little adventure better than boring old train ride isn't it?" he answered with a smile. He's so lucky he's an old man and Dad's friend and too short for his own good.

We continued walking on through the city. There were beautiful apartments and cute little magic shops, things I haven't been able to enjoy in a long time. I hadn't noticed we'd come to a halt, until I felt the top of Makarov's head at my knees and I tripped over him. Rogue slithered to my rescue but when he looked up, he was in awe.

The building we'd stopped at was three stories high with red tile roofing and windows with green and red shutters. There were three huge a flags,a green one, an orange one, and a blue one. I noticed that the orange flag was noticeably huger than the other two and the the Fairy Tail Guild stamp was smack right in the middle of it, just like it was on Makarov's shirt. The strong wind made the flags flutter beautifully as I got up from my embarrassing fall.

Makarov smiled at me and said,"Welcome to Fairy Tail Raphael".


	2. Fairy Tail Badass

Adjusting to life in Magnolia was pretty easy. Just like it was easy to adjust living in every other city I've been in. I live a bit of a walk from the Guild, but it's no problem for me. I live in a little cute apartment with enough space for Rogue to slither around when he pleases. I bought a two bedroom apartment for some reason, maybe to imply to the lecherous landlord that I'm not looking for company in one bed. My room had these ugly orange walls with pink curtains. When I'd seen it, all I wanted to do was throw up. So I'd made the walls a nice light indigo color, and made those curtains a rich dark blue. I'm not usually all about matching, but that room was to ugly for me. I had a balcony that showed me a clear view of Fairy Tail Guild and the stars above.

Whenever I look up at the stars, I think about my Dad and Mom up there, watching over me. Sometimes I talk to Dad, but never to Mom. I just have no idea what to say to her. Sometimes I wonder if that if I talk to them more, they might answer back one day. Which seems impossible, but in the world of magic, anything is possible.

"Hey Dad. Mom" I said. I think I should include her in this conversation. It's very important, me joining a Guild and all.

"So… Makarov seems nice. How come he was never mentioned to me or the fact that you signed me up for adoption the minute you died Dad?" There was no answer. As usual.

"He's the fucking Guild Master! The Master Dad! How are you not going to mention this kind of thing to me? I'm sick and tired of learning about my family from other people! I joined the guild by the way. I'm going to get the Guild stamp on my neck. It'll probably be really hard to show off considering I'll be wearing one of your chokers Mom. The quests they have will be so easy. And I can do them all. Stealing things back, getting rid of people, killing monsters, torturing people for information…. you know, the fun stuff. But obviously S class is what I'm aiming for. To be one of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards would not only be an honor, but then I can become a legend! Of course, I'll need a team. But then again I don't _want_ a team. I have Rogue and he's all the team I need. Plus, I can fight like it's nobody's business and…. you guys just have to trust me on this. According to _Dad_ this will be good for me, considering the behavior I've been displaying in recent years. Well as usual, you guys have been a lot of help. Goodnight, I love you"

I went back into the apartment and took a nice hot bath. As I sat on my bed and put creamy lotion on my legs, Rogue came slithering in, where he began questioning about tomorrow. Why he was so worried was beyond me. But Then I actually took a good look at Rogue and noticed his reason for worrying. Rogue was about 9.5 to 10 feet long. And he was kind of big. Whenever he'd look at something that he found interesting, he'd stare at it in a strange way that would make you feel uncomfortable, if he was staring at you that is. He had big golden eyes and fangs the size of a kitchen knife filled with venom. Rogue doesn't eat people. He told me once that, he refers them dead and dry. When I was younger and couldn't kill people, Rogue went hunting for rabbits that he'd brutally kill and swallow in one whole.

I remember complaining to my father about how disgusting he was, but all Dad did was shrug it off and tell me that I'd have to get use to it. So I did. I always looked away whenever Rogue ate a person. I still do sometimes.

"Rogue no one is going to kill you. I think they'd be more afraid of you killing them" I told him. He was such a big baby at times I swear.

_"But Mistress-" _ he whined

"No buts", I said, "They'll have to go through me before they even lay a finger on you" I would never let anyone take Rogue from me. Rogue wrapped his long body around me, giving a hug, endgame me a big slobbery lick on the cheek, the equivalent of a snake kiss.

"Now don't you worry a scale on your pretty head about it, Rogue. They'll like you. I'll make them if I have to". He hissed with glee and finally, I got some sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day, Rogue and I walked to the Guildhall. I knew I was being stared at. How many people here walk around with a giant snake trailing them? I would believe not many. I wasn't only being stared at because of Rogue, but well, because of me. I have shoulder length raven black hair with the ends streaked red. I wear a black leather jacket and combat boots that for some reason don't give me heavy steps. I have a nice figure but, my butt isn't huge but it's not flat either. My breasts are of perfect size. Not too big, not too small, but high and round. My skin wasn't vampire pale but I'm not as tan as Aaron was. I have more of a light tan thing going on.

When I walked into the Guildhall, there was only one word that had come to mind: chaos. They were all either drinking barrels of booze (which I later learned was just one girl, Cana) or challenging each other to a fight. I'd say that the boy to girl ratio would be 3 to 1. Near all the commotion, was a girl about my age. Her hair was long and white like whipped cream. She had rosy pale skin and big blue eyes. She wore a long sleeveless maroon dress that helped show off her breasts which were clearly a size bigger than mine. She seemed to be the only sane one here and very approachable. I'd felt like I'd seen her before though….

"Umm… I'm here to get the Guild stamp and I was wondering if there was anyone here who could give it to me" I said nervously. Why am I nervous? Didn't I just say she was approachable a minute ago?

She turned her attention towards me and gave me the most beautiful smile ever.

"Oh! Hello there. I wasn't expecting new members so soon. I'm Mirajane Strauss and the person giving you that Guild Stamp you're asking for", She'd said. Did she just say Mirajane Strauss? The one from Sorcerer Magazine? Now I remember why she seems so familiar. I'd seen countless photos of her littering Aaron's room once…

*FLASHBACK*

_I picked up the __Sorcerer Magazine__ on Aaron's bedroom floor, and flipped to the page with its corner bent. There was a picture with a real pretty girl with white hair, big blue eyes, and a smile as bright as the sun. I'd also noticed how the bikini she'd been wearing really showed off her large breasts. Why was this bookmarked in Aaron's room on the floor? Does he think she's prettier than me? Is it because my boobs aren't as big? I wanted to cry, but then that would be stupid. She's just a model. Obviously there are countless girls out there that are jealous of her._

_I called Aaron up into his room, and sat on his bed, waiting for him to arrive._

_"What's up?" he'd asked, smiling at me. Boy was it hard not to get a bit turned on by that smile. Now it'll be harder for me to scold him._

_I took a deep breath and asked, "Care to tell me why you have this specific page of __Sorcerer Magazine__ bookmarked?" Even with his tan skin, I could still tell that Aaron was blushing._

_"It's… uh… I….I had that bookmarked way before I….. umm…." he was so nervous he couldn't even explain. So I laughed at him.I couldn't help it. He was just so cute when he was nervous._

_"Wait. You're not mad at me?" he asked. Clearly any other girl should've been mad. But I'm not any kind of girl._

_"It's just that… I thought you liked this girl better than me and… I was jealous" now it was my turn to blush. And his turn to laugh at me._

_"Raphael, you know I love you. You must've been pretty jealous of Mirajane to think that I like her more than you. I don't even know her" he said._

_"But look at her body! She has such flawless white skin and her boobs are much bigger than mine and-" but I couldn't finish my sentence. Not with Aaron's lips on my mine. Kissing me was a very nice way to tell me to stop worrying about it._

_When he stopped kissing me Aaron said, "Yes that's all true, but you also have flawless skin. Your breasts may not be as big as hers but they are high and round. And perfect for love-making." With that he gave my butt a squeeze and kissed me even more passionately. When we had come up for air, we could see that both our eyes were clouded with lust and we began tugging our clothes off and Aaron slowly pushed me down on the bed as he decorated my neck with kisses and… all I could think about was that Mirajane should be jealous of __**me**__. I may not be a beautiful model, but every girl on this earth should be jealous that I have Aaron as my boyfriend._

*END FLASHBACK*

I snapped out of my daydream as Mirajane called me over to the bar. She took out a stamp and some ink and asked me where I wanted it. I told her that I wanted it on the left side of my neck. She pressed the cool ink covered stamp to my neck and with a _Pop!_, I was officially a member of Fairy Tail. She held up a mirror for me and I tilted the side of my neck. The emblem was a rich maroon color. Now it was Rogue's turn.

"Say Mirajane", I asked, "Do you think you could stamp my friend here too. We came here together, as a team." I hope she just goes with it. Dear God please go with it and don't scream….

"Okay",she said. "Where's your friend?" Please don't scream, please don't scream, please don't scream…..

I stepped over to the side to reveal the 9.5 foot long snake behind me. Mirajane looked shocked, maybe even a bit paler, but she didn't look scared. She looked… amazed.

"Well is he just going to sit there or does he want his Guild stamp?" she asked playfully. I slowly coaxed Rogue over to Mirajane where she stamped the top of his head. It came out a snow white.

_"Mistress do I look nice?" _he asked me.

"The white really sets off your scales Rogue. Now that wasn't too bad was it?" I asked him. The stamp did really look good on him. And then Rogue did something that really surprised me. He slithered over to Mirajane, wrapped himself around her, and gave her a really big lick on the cheek. I really thought she was going to scream. Then I noticed something. The whole Guild kind of went silent on us. When I looked around, everyone was watching as Rogue continued to lick Mirajane. But then I heard something. Laughter. Mirajane was laughing.

"… Ha that tickles!…. Oh…oh! Stop it so ticklish!" she laughed. I wanted to look at her strange I really did, but everyone else was already doing that. With Mirajane's playful cries, I decided it was time for Rogue to stop.

"Rogue!" I called. "Unwrap yourself from her this instant and come here", I commanded. They both gave me pouty faces as Rogue unwrapped himself from Mirajane and came over to me. I rolled my eyes at him as he tried to apologize, which I felt was totally unnecessary. i told him that just because he made a new friend, didn't mean he had to go and lick them to death. I knew people were looking at us as I talked to Rogue, thinking that he is just a snake and that he can't answer back.

I looked at Mirajane and said, "Sorry about that. He just really wanted to thank you for being so kind to him."

"It's okay!" she said. "He's so adorable. Where'd you get him?" she asked. Well that'll be a story to tell.

I sat down at the bar and asked, "Can I get a drink first?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After a few hours of chatting with Mirajane, I decided I needed to see Master Makarov. I hadn't seen the old man since I'd come to Magnolia, and I felt it in my heart that it would be right to visit him every chance I get. So I asked Mirajane and strangely, he was out on an errand. Well he is the GuildMaster, he can go wherever he wants. I bet he told them that I was just an 'errand' too. I needed to do _something_. I rubbed my left arm where my mark was. I always did that when I felt anxious or bored. Maybe I should go take a request. I've been doing it illegally so far, why should joint a guild stop me now?

I hopped up off the bar stool and walked over to the request board. There were a few interesting ones I'd seen so far: drive out an infestation Vulcans, catch a thief that has stolen items valued as much as 90,000 jewels, steal back some stupid crown from a rival ruler, and dispose of a few ghosts. That last one was ridiculous because ghosts aren't real, because if they were, my parents or rather my father would haunt the shit out me every time I hooked up with a guy at a bar.

That night, as I packed my bag for a few days of Vulcan hunting, there was a knock at my door. I wasn't expecting anyone and I didn't tell Mirajane where I lived. When I opened the door, there was Master Makarov.

"Hello Raphael", he said. Is this guy stalking me or what?

"Uh hey Makarov. What brings you here?" I asked as though it weren't weird that he had just randomly shown up here.

"I need to speak to you about a few things. May I come in?" So I let him in. He seemed so fascinated by Rogue and his ability to fit in 'such a small space' as he put it. I rolled my eyes as I led him to the living room. I'd decorated as mostly colors Rogue would find appealing considering we'd be sharing this space. The walls were a bright red lined with black edges and maroon curtains. There was basic furniture of various patterns that complimented the room nicely. We sat together on the couch as I set down two cups of tea. I sipped my tea as Makarov talked.

"As you know, joining a Guild means there are a lot of rules that come with it. And you have been doing some not so Guild legal things, young lady" .Did he seriously just come here to lecture me? I let him continue.

"Now I know it may seem like you don't want to hear it, but I'm doing this for your own good. Especially considering that in some places it may be illegal for you to perform your magic. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing when you're out there. I promised your father I'd protect you." There it is. The whole 'I just want to protect you' crap. Now I'm mad.

"Wait so you're saying that if I use my magic somewhere, it may be illegal and I could get arrested?" I asked him. He nodded his head. This is exactly why I shouldn't have joined a guild in the first place. Dad said it would limit his powers. So why didn't I think of that before I became branded as a member of Fairy Tail?

"Then I won't use magic to fight. You don't always need magic to fight", I said. Makarov looked at me strange as if I had just said I want to run away and marry a Vulcan.

"What I mean is, I can fight. Without magic. I have weapons other than Rogue. The Magic Council can't arrest me for causing injury _without_ the use of magic can they? And even if there is a place out there that my magic is illegal, do you really think they're gonna remember? My magic is rare, Makarov. No one's seriously going to arrest me. They haven't before so why now?" I explained.

Makarov sighed heavily, then said, "Yes Raphael I understand what you're saying but you obviously don't understand me. Anything you do, gets traced back to the guild which gets traced back to me. We want to keep up a good image. You are right though. The Magic Council can't arrest you for causing injury without the use of magic, but the Royal Army can. They can arrest you for whatever they want. You need to be controlled. I know what you can do, and believe me it is impressive, but I don't want to hear that you've been using your powers willy nilly all over the place. And I know your father taught you about control".

Yeah but honestly I don't care. I'll fight when I need to, I'l use my powers and Rogue when I need to, and I'll only do _that_ when I'm in serious danger. But for some reason explaining this people doesn't really sit well with them.

"Fine, whatever", I said. "I'm going to be disposing of Vulcans in a town a few hundred miles away. Is it okay if I do whatever the hell I want with them because I'm using my magic on them", I told him. I'm the daughter of the Robin Hood of wizards. I can do whatever the fuck I want.

"They're Vulcans", he said. "Who exactly cares what happens to them?" I'm really going to like this old man.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

A few days after my chat with Makarov, I was draining the hell out of every Vulcan I saw. It was more fair if they at least charged toward me. Then I could just drain them of their blood, give it to Rogue and move on. Rogue could never have enough blood. Feeding him a lot at once though, really helped because then I wouldn't have to hear the _My hunger for blood_ speech. This was fun. A little too fun. The rushes of energy I felt from Rogue consuming blood left me craving more violence, something I've had a problem with since I was 12. The fact that I find amusement in the pain and suffering of others isn't really strange to me. My brother told me how when I was a baby, I would actually _laugh_ at the wizards doubling over in pain. I'm not a sadist. At heart. But every so often after a fight, Rogue says that I am vicious and aggressive. Then I remind him about the bunnies and he shuts up.

Rogue was finally feeling full, so we took a rest down by the river. Luckily, it was a bit cloudy so I agreed to resting more near the river. I hate the sun. It's not like I get bad sunburn or anything I just really, really hate the sun. It's like my mortal enemy or something. I dozed off as Rogue curled himself up and rest his head on himself. I tried to stay awake I really did. But I closed my eyes for a few minutes and then….

When I woke up, the stars were just beginning to come out. I heard the sounds of the night animals and decided it was time for us to get ready to go.

"Come on Rogue", I said, patting his head so he'd wake up. His eyes fluttered and then he rose his head. "It's time for us to go back to the inn. We have to go now before the bar crowds start showing up. We don't need another uproar like last time."

He slithered long behind me as I led the way out of the forest no longer filled with Vulcans. I listened to him as he murmured about the way the cobblestones felt on his long belly. This must've been so fun for him, consuming Vulcan blood like beer at a bar. When we'd gotten to the inn, I paid no attention to the glances I was getting from the other occupants. Not a lot of people are sitting well knowing they're sleeping in the same place as a giant snake. Even the Innkeeper was a little rude to me. She said that if there is even one scale in the room we're staying, she's going to complain about Fairy Tail and how we 'don't have proper hygiene skills' or whatever. I rolled my eyes and told her to go fuck herself. Rogue sheds his skin entirely at once and leaving scales around? That's just a myth snake owners use to creep people out.

I threw myself into the plush down comforter bed, and sighed with exhaustion. I sat up and looked out the window. The bar across the street seemed to be crawling with guys. I forget if I packed something nice enough for a bar…. I thumped back down onto the pillows. Not only would doing that be nice, but something I've basically earned these past few months. I wish this wasn't a job or a Guild thing because then I could screw whatever guy I wanted down there. Ugh, my life is unfair. I should, no I _need _ to do something daring. Something thrilling. Even if it's small I'll do it. Does this place have any booze? I would order up some but then I'd have to deal with the mean Innkeeper. Maybe I could…. yes that would be _perfect_.

"Rogue", I said. He slithered in from the bathroom and asked,_"Yes Mistress?"_

"We're going on a raid. To the wine cellar!"

At around thirty minutes after midnight, when I was certain everyone was asleep, Rogue and I carefully made our way down the stairs. Past the den and into the kitchen, there was a door that led to the cellar. Obviously, it was locked so I took my dagger out from my boot and wedged between the door and the doorframe. After a few minutes of useless wedging, I heard the lock pop and the door was open. If only Rogue had hands I could high five him but I just told him good job and stepped down into the cellar.

We were surrounded by walls and shelves filled with bottles of wine. Some of them were obviously used, but I wanted to really leave a mark on this inn. I went further into the back. The cellar smelled the way rocks do after it rains, and the air felt most. I'm surprised this place isn't covered in mold. As I walked further and further from the staircase, the light got darker and darker until the light that was left was pretty dim. But I'd trained my eyes to adjust to any amount of darkness so even if it was pitch black I could still see where I was going. I'd seen that the wine on the back shelves were older than my father and… they were imported. I'd scored gold. I grabbed as many bottles as I could carry, even Rogue grabbed a couple too, and we ran up the stairs as fast as we could.

I closed the door with my shoulder and tiptoed up the stairs to our room. Once the door was closed, I'd burst out laughing.

"Woo what a rush!" I exclaimed. "Maybe slamming the door would've been better. Waking up that old hag could've been gold!"

I kicked off my boots and shrugged off my jacket. Rogue got on the bed and curled up next to me. I picked up a bottle and said,"To being a Fairy Tail badass", and I put the cork in between my teeth, yanking it open and took a nice long sip. Now this was the good stuff. The wine felt like red silk running down my throat and sent a warm fuzzy feeling throughout my body. Eventually, one sip became two, then two became a bottle, and one bottle became another, and so forth. Rogue can seriously only handle one bottle before he blacks out. Which left more for me to finish and I was totally fine with that.

The next morning arrived with a massive hangover and two cold showers. Like giving myself pneumonia was seriously going to help. I just needed to kill my remaining buzz before I collected my money. Before Rogue and I had left the inn, I'd left the Innkeeper a little present. I went to the town hall building downhill where my money was waiting for me. A man about thirty was there, handling my sack of jewels oh so carefully like it was his firstborn. What a miser.

"Hey", I said. "I'm here to collect my money for getting rid of the Vulcans in the forest."

He looked up at me and had the nerve to leer at my luscious cleavage. Then he said,"Alright, alright. I just need to know what guild you're from, see your stamp and we'll be all good to go". He smiled at me in a way that I din't like at all.

So I told him I was part of Fairy Tail and I pulled back my hair so he could see my stamp on my neck. Seeing my neck made him leer even more and all I wanted to do was stomp on him until his balls popped.

I sighed heavily and audibly then said, "So are we done here or what?" Too busy staring at my breasts, I had to flick the guy in order for him to hand me my money. God what a sicko.

Before I left, I leaned over the counter and whispered darkly, "You look down at my chest again and I'll have my snake eat you. And it'll be even more painful 'cause I won't kill you first. Fairy Tail doesn't take kindly to sexual harassment." I turned and walked away, Rogue in tow. I heard him hiss at the guy which made me very proud to have him as a friend.

We'd left our bags at the door, and caught the next train back to Magnolia.I dozed off and had another one of my dreadful dreams.

*FLASHBACK*

_Aaron had just left to go take care of a request a few thousand miles away. For two weeks. What the hell was I supposed to do by myself for two whole weeks? I'm living here with him in his house and now I'm going to be alone, surrounded by all his things. Going to sleep will definitely be hard. No warm body to wrap around mine and his scent of firewood and grass forever imprinted on the sheets… oh God I can't do it. I threw myself on the couch and thought. I wonder what Rogue is doing._

_Rogue lived inside Aaron's shed. It was the size of a small apartment and Rogue could slither in and out when he pleases. It's not like Aaron doesn't like Rogue. This was Rogue's idea. Every since Aaron and I… got together, Rogue didn't want to feel like he'd be in the way, so he moved into the shed. I didn't do much of my magic and Rogue continued hunting rabbits._

_"Hey Rogue?" I called knocking not the door of the shed. "Are you in there?"_

_"Mistress I'm right behind you", he said slithering up behind me. There was blood on his mouth from eating rabbits. He wrapped himself around me and gave me a big hug._

_"I've missed you", I told him._

_"From the sounds I hear coming from the house daily you sure did", he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes a bit._

_"Shut up", I said blushing. "Aaron just… really misses me after he's away for a long time."_

_"So being away from you for more than 8 hours forces you two to have a fuck fest inside the house? You're so naughty Mistress , naughty, naughty, naughty."_

_I rolled my eyes at him. Besides, what does he know about fuck fests and all the energy that goes into that? _

_After our little banter, Rogue and I took a walk around the forest. We talked about the old days when we were just learning to love each other and get along. He told me about all the dreams he's had over the past month or so and how much fun it is to scare people on the road. When he asked about what I was doing, I really couldn't say much. I was living with my boyfriend and stuck alone at home until he came back. What else was there to my life right now? All I do is cook and clean and sleep and read and… my life is boring. I'm basically going through the early stages of stay at home wife. All I need now is kids and I'll at least have something productive to do. _

_"So what you're saying is", Rogue said as we sat by the river and i stuck my feet in, "You're in a rut."_

_"I guess you could say that", I confessed. "Everything except the sex feels routine." He looked at me strange._

_"What you mean by except the sex?"_

_I blushed. This was not something you normally talk about with your spirit animal._

_"Well…. how do I put it? Aaron can be… spontaneous. He can be very energetic and aggressive. He always tries and succeeds in getting me in bed almost every night."_

_"So then basically he's satisfying you but are you satisfying him? Have you ever considered he might leave because you get to have all the fun?" Rogue asked. I hadn't thought of it like that. Maybe I should kick it up a notch and get dirty. But is that really going to get us out of this rut?_

_"You haven't been you lately Mistress", Rogue said suddenly._

_"What do you mean by that?" I asked. Was it true? Have I been acting like myself? _

_"I can feel your emotions Mistress, remember? We're connected for eternity. Anyway, lately you've had this gloomy mood lately every time Aaron leaves to go work, but you get very happy when he comes back. Seriously I can hear you squeal when you hear him unlock the door. You used to be so vibrant and outgoing Mistress. You were as you like to say 'Badass'_."

_Rogue's right. I was a badass before this whole relationship rut thing. And according to Rogue, its been dampening my everything for the past few months._

_"So what do you want me to do?" I asked him. _

_"Use your feminine assets. Use sex. Be naughty in and out of the bedroom. Scream louder. Get drunk. Have a good time. And for God sakes at least be on top __**once**__!" he explained, clearly exasperated._

_"So be myself?" _

_"Isn't that the only reason why he fell in love with you? Because you were yourself? I don't even live with you guys and I know how to fix this damn relationship."_

_So be myself. Be badass. Seduce my boyfriend and continuously turn him on? I wonder if I can handle a sexually hyper boyfriend. Of course I can. I should get a hobby or something. Sitting around the house dulls my emotions. Maybe I should go shopping once a week or something just to get out. I swear to God if this doesn't work I'm going to get pregnant eventually and have Aaron's baby… oh my God why the hell would I think that! Rogue is so smart. I'm glad he's my spirit animal._

*END FLASHBACK*

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Back at Magnolia, I went to straight to Fairy Tail to tell Mira (everyone calls her that) all about what happened. I skipped the whole draining Vulcans thing and went to the part about the mean Innkeeper and the perverted clerk. I even told her about the little surprise I'd left our dearest Innkeeper. A few hours later, the daily gossip rags had come in along with the paper. I leaned against the bar and sipped my drink slowly as everyone read what I had done.

Soon, most people were high-fiving me and telling me what a good job I did at my first solo-request. There were as many questions about _how_ I got rid of the Vulcans thank God. I don't feel comfortable telling people what I can do just yet. Cana, told me that if it was her, she would've raided the whole cellar, and Elfman told me it would've been really manly to have kicked that clerk's ass for disrespecting me.

"Raphael," I heard a familiar voice call. It was Makarov. Uh-oh judgment time.

"Would you care to explain to the contents of this paper?" he asked. The paper read like so:

_Fairy Tail's newest member has attitude! According to a few sources, the newest female member of Fairy Tail, Raphael Aisuru, may be hiding some horns and a devil's tail. Not only did she raid the wine cellar of the local Inn she was staying in, she also left the bottles empty all over the room to confess her crime to the Innkeeper. But from what we can tell Raphael doesn't seem to really care what anyone thinks of her. She also threatened a clerk to have her giant pet snake eat him after he looked down her shirt a few times. This girl obviously likes her space. Look out perverts! We can obviously tell that this new addition to Fairy Tail will make the news much more interesting._

"So what? That Innkeeper was rude and that clerk should be castrated", I said defending myself. Then Makarov laughed. This guy loves to laugh at me doesn't he?

"I'm not going to punish you, Raphael", he said. He took a stand on top of the bar.

"I'm here to congratulate you for getting into the Fairy Tail spirit and I would officially like to welcome you as a member of Fairy Tail."

Everyone cheered and rounds and rounds of drinks were being passed around. And who could pass up a drink at their own Welcome party?

**I promise to include Gray in the next chapter I swear! I just need you know good plot build up. All reviews are welcomed though positive ones are the most encourage. if you would like to be critical, please do it in a respectful and mature way. Get pumped for Gray everyone there is gonna be some chemistry going on.**


	3. The Eyes Cast a Spell

I woke up with whiskey on my breath and a hand resting on my hip. A hand resting on my hip? What the fuck? I slowly looked at the sleeping form next to me and then I remembered. This guy's from last night. And boy did he really know how to show a girl a good time. We were obviously at his place, considering screwing a random guy at in your home a very large snake not so far away doesn't help set the mood. I sat up with my legs ver the edge of the bed as I looked for my bra. My panties were on as always. When I actually tried to leave the bed, this guy's arm curled around my waist and he said, "Hmmm…. don't go." I looked over my shoulder and saw that he was awake. He had spiky green hair with pretty green eyes to match. I turned my body around and gave him my trademark smile. He propped himself up on one arm, showing off well defined pecs.

"You got somewhere to be?" he asked. Obviously he was begging for more.

"No, you?" I asked back, smirking. They always fell for the smirk.

He pulled me closer to him, my legs tangled in his before saying, "Well since you're a wizard and all, you're obviously squeamish to get back to where you need to be. But one more round of fun couldn't hurt right?" He was right. Rogue was waiting for me but he was expecting me at any sort of time. I could stay awhile and have myself _one more round of fun_ as this guy put it.

I took his face in my hands and kissed him for a good 30 seconds before asking, "What's your name again sweetie?"

"Lysander." I straddled him, then said, "Well Lysander, I'd love to have another round of fun with you", and I winked at him. We began kissing again as Lysander's hands made their way down to my hips and slowly began pulling down my panties…..

I know I said I wouldn't screw guys on the job. But the whole celibacy thing just does't work for me. I'm a woman and I have needs. Now those needs may not have to be answered for a few weeks, but they do need to be answered. Besides, I have standards. Expectations in what I'm looking for. I mostly hunt for men at bars. And it's really hard if you're picky like me. I'm not looking for romance even though I did stay with a bar tender for a month or two. But that's another story to tell. Anyway, guys are actually more desperate than girls when it comes to hunting at bars. They frequent ladies night mostly and if not, they try to get lucky with female wizards. Like me.

For a guy at a bar to get lucky with a girl like me, they have to be a couple of things. They have to be fit, taller than me, obviously hot, smart enough to carry on a conversation, and they can be no more than 6 years older than or 3 years younger than me. If they're younger than me, most of the time that means I got myself a cherry-boy i.e virgin. If they're older than me, that means experience and sometimes commitment. To another woman that is. So I've stumbled upon a few married men, so what? I'm not a home-wrecker just a bed-rocker. I've never been anyone's mistress before (nor do I plan on it) and most of these guys are freshly married anyway. There's never been a kid in the equation. I'd never do that to a kid.

I'm no slut, now believe me on that one. Every hot guy I see doesn't automatically set my libido on fire. Sometimes I just look up and there's a pair of eyes across the bar connected with mine. And those eyes, they cast a spell. A spell that causes me to walk over to the guy and have a conversation. Then get a little tipsy and let the guy take me home where they have their wicked way with me. Or I have my wicked way with them.

Rogue says I should find someone and actually stay with them so I at least have a shred of self respect and stop throwing myself at guys. But I'm not. Guys are the weak ones here. The experienced ones tell me all about their wives and girlfriends and how great they are. Then why are you here, cheating on her? The virgins are shy, and seducing them is easy. See? Men are weak. They try not to display their emotions, but a little whiskey later and they're revealing all their secrets. I can hold my alcohol. My secrets are safe.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

As if running late to some sort of meeting with Makarov wasn't bad enough. I'd actually forgot about it and Lysander with his sexy body made me forget even more. Rogue had reminded me the minute I walked through the door. The first thing I thought was _oh shit!_ which then led me to realize that I was meeting him somewhere near the guild. Somewhere where having meetings with your master isn't strange at all. I ran down the stairs of the apartment, fixing my hair as best I could on the way, and sped walked to the guild. All I had to do was ask Mira and then I would be casually late to the meeting. Casually

The meeting was at 9 and it was 8:45 now. _Just a few more blocks…_ I finally mad it to the guild where I composed myself and walked in. For some reason it had felt like I had made some sort of big entrance. Mostly everyone was watching me (except Cana who was too busy drinking at the moment) and it felt weird. I was wearing my usual clothes, a leather jacket, my boots, and today I wore a breezy shirt because it was nice out. So what could be possibly wrong? I strolled on over to Mira, who was busy writing some stuff down, to ask just where my meeting with Makarov was.

"Hey Mira, can you tell me where my meeting with Master Makarov is? I know it's somewhere near here and I'm running late but I completely forgot, so would you mind reminding me again?"

When she had looked up, she was about to answer me when she covered her mouth and giggled a bit. Oh my God why is everyone acting so weird today?

"Can you please tell me what's wrong with me that is making everyone stare?" I asked annoyed.

"It's just that… well…. Raphael you've got a … hickey on your neck", she told me embarrassed to even say. Great that's just what I need a hickey to show Makarov that before I was at our meeting I was screwing around with some random guy. I rummaged around in my pockets for something, anything to hide it for now. Then I felt smooth leather and fished a choker out of my pocket.

"Ooo pretty", Mira said. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was mom's. That woman was really into to chokers", when I finally fastened the thing on my neck I said, "Now where is my meeting with Master Makarov again?"

"It's at the cafe right around the corner from here. _Julian's _ I believe. Hurry you don't want to be late!" she said giving me a smile. But I am late thanks to these guys. I walked out as casually as possible without drawing attention to myself. But as I left, a pair of dark blue eyes caught my attention. And then I was once again put under the spell of a beautiful pair of eyes. I couldn't see who they belonged to, but they were calling me toward them, and all I could do was debate whether or not to submit. But I had another commitment and i'd have to miss those pretty blue eyes this time.

Makarov wasn't mad that I was late. According to him I was casually late which felt like a lie to me. I think he was just being nice this one time. I'd ordered some fruity drink or whatever and Makaorv sat, content with his cup of tea. I wanted to ask how exactly he could be sitting at the table without falling short of the rim of the table itself. I guess he could feel me wanting to ask so he said, "It's my magic. I force myself to become bigger when I hold these kind of meetings."

I felt like when he said _these kind of meetings_ it meant that he didn't hold them very often and I felt like I had done something wrong. My drink had come and I realized that I wasn't even thirsty anymore, though I forced myself to sip from the straw from time to time.

"So… um, what did you want to talk about Makarov?" I asked him. Trying to act like this wasn't important wasn't really going to help.

"It has come to my attention that you are in need of some more challenging requests," he'd said. Did he seriously come here to tell me to stop taking all the easy jobs?

"Meaning that I myself have a request for you from… we'll say he's an old friend,"

"What is it you would like me to do?" I asked, interested.

"One of the noble families is holding a soiree to help find a match for their son. However, where they live has had some recent monster attacks and they have asked for a wizard to come in and be like a bodyguard of sorts."

"Why didn't they just send out a request like anyone else would? Why do I have to go to the party and protect them instead of going out and finding the monster?" I asked. Seriously it doesn't have to be as complicated as they put it.

"They would like to keep their identity secret for now and they specifically asked for someone to watch out for their son. He has recently recovered from a severe illness and if he were to get caught in the wild fire…" Makarov stopped talking so that I could understand what he meant. So basically, a noble family is too proud to put out a request so they asked Makarov to send a wizard to make sure that monsters don't attack their special party. If monsters do attack they want that wizard to protect their son and fight and defeat the monsters.

"Why do you want _ me _to do it?" There were obviously other powerful wizards in Fairy Tail. Why didn't he ask one of the S-class wizards?

"Because your magic causes the least amount of damage. That way if the monsters do attack, any damage will be blamed on them and not us, where then we'd have to pay for it." So I'm being asked to do it so we don't have to pay property damage? I could live with that.

"I also want you to do it because you will be free to use your magic to its full extent. I know your parents, especially your father, were skeptical about joining a guild and letting you and your brother join guilds. I will even allow you to do _that._ Only because they are monsters." Wait so I get to do _that_ to monsters? I haven't really tried in a while….

"I'll have to think about it. Plus Rogue and I just got back from another request. I have other obligations here too," I told him. Yeah paying rent and buying food is way more important than playing bodyguard for some noble brat.

"They're willing to pay 350,000," he said. What, he thinks money will change my mind? How rude.

"I'm sorry Makarov but I'd like to decline. I suggest you find someone else, maybe an S-class wizard to help you. I just can't be bought," I told him.

"Good," he said, "Because I just made the whole thing up." Wait what? There was never a noble family in danger? Was this some sort of test?

"Then why call me own here if you're going to lie?!" I exclaimed.

"Well I have a real favor for you and I thought messing with your head would be fun," he said. "I do it to most of the new members."

"Can you please stop messing with me and be serious?" I asked exasperated. This old man was wearing me out.

"I would like it if you would keep a watchful eye on two guild members," he said, "Specifically Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia." Okay now I have to play babysitter?

"What exactly concerns you about them so much that you need another guild member to watch them?" I asked, intrigued.

"Natsu recruited Lucy a little while back, I think during a time when you had gone. Anyway, Natsu and Lucy together seem to cause destructive damages no matter where they go. Natsu burns things to the ground and Lucy's celestial spirits end up getting in the way somehow. Besides all of that, they're really good kids at heart. I'm basically asking you to just watch out for them."

"So what's in it for me?" I asked straight forwardly.

"5% of whatever the bar at the Guild makes a week," he said. I'm surprised Makarov asked me. I have no idea who these two people are. In fact, I don't even know that many members except for Mira, Elfman, and Cana. And then there was that guy with the dark blue eyes.

"You've got yourself a deal Makarov," and we shook hands.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I strolled into the Guildhall a few hours after my meeting with Makarov. All I'm going to do is have Mira introduce me and then I can watch this Natsu and Lucy carefully. However my path to Mira was blocked. There was a fight going on. I couldn't see what was going on or who was in it, but I could tell at least ten people were in it. Spells and punches were thrown at one another. I saw fire come out out of the odd ball of dust and masculinity. I tried to steer my way towards the bar, but somehow that ball always ended up in my way.

When I finally made it, I was just about to sit down and ask Mira a question when someone was flung at me. I landed on my back on the floor and I closed my eyes as my head thudded on the floor. I heard the person on top of me ask, "Are you okay?" It was a man's voice rich like silk, but a little rough around the edges like shag carpet too. When I looked up, I immediately looked into his eyes. His dark blue eyes. He wore a chain on his neck, I think it was a cross. He had spiky black hair and full lips. I saw his guild stamp on the right side of his chest, the same blue as his eyes. Wait if it's on his chest than how can I see it…. holy crap he's not wearing clothes.

His toned and muscular body shows me that he's only in shorts. He has very fit abs with a sexy v-shape that disappears in his shorts. Staring was rude, and I realized I was doing it. No, I was practically drooling. I quickly removed myself from under this mysterious and sexy man and leaned against the bar.

"I'm sorry," he said, "This idiot over here wanted a fight so I gave it to him and in the process I take down you."

"It's okay it was just an accident really," I couldn't get myself together. There was some sort of connection between us, some sort of pull every time I looked in his eyes. They cast a spell on me that I just couldn't break. I tried to compose myself to look nonchalant but it was obviously too late for that. Mira, had made her way towards me behind the bar and handed me a drink.

"Rough day huh?" she asked. So I told her about my meeting, which I learned she knew a bit about.

"He had said something about getting someone to look after Natsu. I thought Lucy would be the best choice since she's always scolding him but, I guess the master doesn't think she can seriously handle it," she told me.

"Can you actually tell me who these two are? I don't know that many people here yet," I asked. For some reason, Mira looked very excited, like she was dishing gossip or something.

"Okay okay!" she said excitedly. "That's Natsu over there with the pink hair." She pointed to a guy with spiky pink hair, a dark red guild stamp on his right shoulder, and strange clothes. His outfit consisted of a black waistcoat with gold trimmings over his chest with no under shirt. Natsu was pretty well built himself just like the mysterious man who fell on me. Anyway, he wore white knee-length trousers, a thick black wristband, and black opened toed sandals with a white scarf. There was this thing about him that made me feel like he would be easy to make friends with.

"And that's Lucy," Mira said. Lucy was blonde. I _hate_ blondes. But Lucy looked like I was going to like her. She wore her hair with a ponytail on one side of her head. She wore a short blue skirt with a belt and a ring of keys. As I looked closer, I saw they were celestial keys. Lucy had breasts sure, but they weren't big like Mira's but they weren't invisible. Her bust seemed to look big from the side but they were actually small in the front. I think she has a boyfriend (could it possibly be Natsu?) but if she doesn't, I'm going to remind her of the fact as constantly as I can.

They were both compatible with each other. With the way Natsu talked about their adventures, he seemed more adventurous. Lucy piped up once in awhile to clarify something about whatever they had ben through. She seemed timid, but willing. I decided to introduce myself.

She was sitting alone, at one of the tables strewn across the first floor. This was just too easy.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Raphael Aisuru."

It took her ten seconds to figure out i was talking to her then she said, "Hi there, I'm Lucy Heartfilia." Wow. She seems more social now than before.

"So you're Lucy? " I said, pretending to have heard about her and Natsu.

"Oh am I really that popular here?" she joked ."I'm actually a bit new here. Natsu just drags me around with him."

"So what, he's like your boyfriend or something?" I asked. I needed to know guessing wasn't going to help me.

"Who told you that?" she asked, her eyes heading towards Mira. "No, Natsu and I are just friends. I only met him a short time ago anyway."

"Oh. You two are just so compatible that I couldn't help but ask," I said.

"So what kind of magic can you do?" she asked. "I'm a Celestial mage." I froze no one here had ever asked me that, not even Mira with her slightly nosy behavior. I don't know why, but I'm afraid to tell people what I can do.

"It's actually a secret," I whispered. "And it's very dangerous. Performing it could really hurt someone."

"Well if anyone's gonna hurt anyone with their magic it's Natsu," Lucy said. "He's a fire mage, and he can do a lost magic called Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. It's pretty cool, but personally I think he picks fights too much."

"Too much?" I asked, confused.

"Every time we come back and Gray's here, he's always picking a fight with him. It's a very exhausting process."

I gave her a look that told her I had no idea who Gray was, so she pointed over to the side and said, "That's Gray." He was the one that fell on me. He said that an idiot wanted to fight him and I'm guessing that idiot was Natsu. I traced my eyes over his body which was now covered with clothes. And of course, our eyes locked. I wanted to look away, but then again I didn't. It was like we were having a conversation with our eyes, except he seemed so set on making me feel vulnerable. His eyes had a fierceness to them, a sort of passion that burned with in them, but at the same time they were cold. And I just couldn't look away.

"Hey Raphael? Is everything all right?" I heard Lucy ask, snapping me out of my trance.

"Uh, yeah everything's fine. I just realized that Gray's the one that fell on top of me earlier when he, Natsu, and everyone else was fighting."

"Did he apologize?" she asked.I was about to tell her he did when she shouted, "Hey Gray can you come over here?"

He strolled over wearing pants, but his beautiful chest was still exposed. "What's up Lucy?" he asked, glancing over at me.

"Did you apologize to Raphael when you fell on her?" she asked him. He looked at me confused.

"I did already actually. But now that I know your name, I can apologize to you properly. Raphael, I am sorry that in the midst of a fight, that I,Gray Fullbuster, had fallen on you. Please find it in your heart to forgive me."

"I already told you it was okay uh, Gray. I know you don't just fall on girls randomly," I said nervously. But he does stare into their eyes intently.

"There. See, Lucy? I'm actually a good person," he joked.

It felt awkward still being there while they were getting chummy with each other so I said, "Well I'm gonna go so…" and I turned on my heel and swiftly walked away.

My exit however, was cut short when I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said rubbing my nose.

"No problem… uh… what was your name again?" this guy asked. When I looked up, I saw it was Natsu.

"It's Raphael. Raphael Aisuru," I told him.

"Well then sorry for bumping into you Raphael, I'm Natsu Dragneel." Dragneel. Like the word dragon.

"Hey how come I've never seen you here before?" he asked. Wow he just gets straight to the point doesn't he?

"Umm.. well I'm pretty new I've only been here for about a month and I just got back from taking care of a request," I explained.

"It's nice to meet you then, Raphael," and he walked over to Gray and Lucy. And I left the guild hall as quickly as humanly possible.

XxXxXxXxXXXx

I felt so… exhausted from today. All I wanted to do was lay down and never wake up. But when I remembered Gray, and his luscious body, and sexy eyes, I felt awake. Rogue slithered in, from a day of doing God knows what, and asked _"How was the meeting Mistress?"_

"Makarov wants me to look after two other guild members and make sure they don't do anything…. irrational. He's paying once a week to do it too."

_"What else happened Mistress? I can feel that something mildly important happened," _he said. Damn Rogue was good.

"Well I met them and they're both pretty cool. But before all that… something weird happened," I whispered. I waited for a reply before I continued.

"This guy, Gray, well before I knew who he was, he would stare me in the eyes. And he has these beautiful dark blue eyes. They're full of passion, yet cold at the same time."

_"And how exactly does this concern you?"_

"It's sexy. Dangerously sexy. I can't help but feel drawn to him when he does that. It's like he's casting a spell and-"

_"Mistress I've heard the whole eye thing before. So does this Gray boy know you?"_

"That's the weird part. Our eyes just connected once and now I don't want to look away. I don't know if he knows anything about me though."

_"Good, good. I don't want anyone acting hostile toward you. So do you like him?"_

"No way!' I exclaimed. "I just met the guy today when he was thrown at me. He's smokin' sure but come on Rogue! I only had one conversation with him that lasted about a minute."

I was frustrated. This whole ordeal was making my life hell. I am the most adaptable person out there. I can deal well with change. But here there's a lot of change. I can't use or basically even tell anyone what my magic is. Makarov must believe he's protecting me or something. He's not. The longer I keep secrets from these people the worst it's going to be once they find out about me and the things I've done. Oh the things I've done and the people I've done them to. I don't feel bad about it. They obviously deserved what happened if I was _that _pissed to harm them. And then there's Gray. I know nothing about him and there's already this connection, this pull that I feel when I look in his eyes.

I got up and took a nice hot shower. I put on my bar hopping clothes. A sexy black tank top with a skirt that was 3 inches from my knees with high-heeled boots was my ensemble. I put on my lipstick, got into my pokerface, and started out the door.

_"Can you tell me where you're going this time even though I know the answer?" _Rogue asked.

"I'm going to find some virgin, seduce him, and fuck the hell out of him," I replied. I don't know why he asked.

_"And just why would you so selfishly take someone's virginity like that?"_

"Because this place pisses me off and I want to ruin something about it even if it is some random 19-year old virgin." And I closed the door, walking down the stairs out onto the street where begin hunting for my prey.

**Finally some Gray action! So what'd you guys think? I know it was a brief encounter but isn't that how some relationships start out? Anyway, I'd just like to clarify something: Raphael is NOT A SLUT. If you didn't get her explanation earlier in the story, here's the basics: She's not going to practice celibacy. It just can't work for someone like her who is naturally attracted to rebellion and badassery. Her going out to hunt for virgins, is her taking her anger out on the limits that her new life has on her, which she is not used to. Please review! Seriously if you're going to favorite this the least you could do is review it too.**


	4. Bound Together

*FLASHBACK*

_"Daddy I don't to want do this anymore," I said. "What if it hurts?"_

_"Princess I know you're scared but you have to do this or else, your magic will become very weak. You need a spirit animal if you want to be a strong Morphomagus Blood mage like Daddy."_

_I looked down into the pit. Even though it was dark, I could still make out the slithering bodies of the Blood Vipers. We were in Hartland. Daddy said he knew a medicine man who could help us figure out what spirit animal I was to be bound to. I remember how his eyes lit up with awe and fear. Apparently, I was to be bound with the most powerful spirit animal of all, the Blood Viper. He told Daddy that there was a pit in the middle of a clearing on the outskirts of the city. All I had to do was stick my arm in the pit and wait until a viper latched on to it._

_I was freaked as hell. This snake was going to sink his fangs into me and mark me as a bound Morphomagus mage and increase my powers. The Viper pits are full of what we wizards call 'Virgin Vipers'. They never tasted blood before so, when you stick your arm in, each snake sniffs at it to see if you hold their preference of blood. I'm not talking blood type because then lots of snakes would bite me. I don't know exactly what it is they're smelling for, but when they find it, they don't hesitate to sink their teeth in. _

_Slowly, I stuck my hand into the pit and left it there. I felt the cool scales of each snake as they brushed past my fingertips. It had been ten minutes. What if the medicine man was wrong? What if the Blood Viper isn't my spirit animal? Just as I was about to pull out my arm, something touched it. And I don't mean my fingertips. I waited and then, he struck. Pain shot all the up my arm as a Blood Viper bit into me. I screamed a bloodcurdling scream as his fangs sunk deeper and deeper into my arm. I could almost feel them to the bone. He wouldn't let go, refused to let go. Then something strange happened._

_From the viper's fangs came a blood red mark full of twisted and intricate symbols. As the markings wrote themselves on my skin, a fiery pain was in my arm. I screamed for my brother, and watched as Daddy held him back. I felt dizzy, like I was slowly being poisoned. That's right… vipers' fangs… they have poison in them. I fell to the ground as the final marking etched itself on my skin. The sign of anarchy. And then the world turned black…_

_When I came to, the viper was no longer attached to my skin. Instead I felt drained of all my energy. Ezekiel was pressing a warm cloth to my forehead._

_"What happened?" I asked. I tried to get up, but practically collapsed in the process. Ezekiel laid me back down gently before answering._

_"Your pet over there almost sucked the life out of you. When your mark was finished being tattooed on your arm, he detached himself from you. I wanted to help you Raphael, but dad said not to interfere."_

_Mark tattooed on my skin? I lifted up my left arm. There were strange symbols surrounding…. surrounding the sign of anarchy. Tattoo… forever…. on my arm._

_"Don't worry about it. Looks cool actually," he said, giving me a small smile. I knew he was trying to be kind, but I didn't want that. Ezekiel slowly held up my arm which appeared to have dried blood on it. He pressed the cloth to it as he slowly, but gently, cleaned it. I winced but I didn't complain about the pain I'd felt. _

_"Shh shh," he whispered. "I know it hurts but you have to bear with me. I don't like seeing you in pain as much as you don't like being in it, but right now I have to clean your wound."_

_So I watched in painful silence as he continued to wash my arm. Two small visible holes were deep inside my arm. Tiny, but deep. An hour or so later, Daddy came back carrying a brown paper shopping bag. Medicine. And I watched in fear as the viper slithered in behind it._

_"Got medicine for your arm, princess," he said to me. He switched places with Ezekiel who stood silently in the corner and watched as Daddy took out a jar filled with what looked like glowing green paste._

_"What's that for Daddy?" I asked. I swear if it stings I will scream as loud as possible._

_"The medicine man gave it to me. Said he could hear you screaming all the way from his shop. Anyway, this is supposed to numb the pain, stop the burning sensations, and close up the puncture wounds." He took my left arm and gently spread the green paste on it. Instantly I felt relief in my arm as the medicine began to work. It was so soothing, I felt like sleeping. But knowing that the viper was in the room, I couldn't be completely relaxed. What if he bites me again? _

_I looked at it, curled into a ball, its head resting on top of itself. I was going to be connected with that for eternity? I'm not even that strong… _

_"Raphael," I heard Daddy say. I looked him in the eyes as he said, "You were such a brave girl out there. I want to tell you what a wonderful job you did."_

_He began talking to himself saying, "My daughter has the most powerful spirit animal of all. Wow that's gonna be a lot to handle…" and he continued pasting my arm._

_I was nine years old._

*END FLASHBACK*

I woke up, my body sweaty like I'd been traveling in the desert. Thankfully, I wasn't with a guy, so there was no one there to witness it. I walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. It must've been about 4 or 5 in the morning. I didn't want to wake Rogue, so I put on a tank with some sweats and a hood and took a walk outside. The cool air helped wake me up as I walked around Magnolia. There wasn't anyone on the streets as I walked the streets. For some reason, I felt free, free to roam around and do as I please. I sat down at a bench near the wharf and leaned my head sky was still dark, but the pink and orange of sunrise started to creep in as whispy clouds dotted the sky.

When I lifted my head back up, I noticed a figure leaning against a street lamp. How had I not heard him? He was wearing a dark hood with dark jeans. His eyes were closed as though he were listening for something. Then when he opened them, our eyes met. And I saw beautiful cold dark blue eyes. It was Gray. What was he doing out here so early in the day? I wanted to ask, but wouldn't he ask me the same thing? I wanted to see if he was going to wait for me to get up and walk but, we just stayed there, watching each other for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he pushed himself of the street light and walked past me, smirking. AS he walked away, I noticed was carrying something rectangular. A package maybe? But who could be expecting a package so early in the day?

I woke at around noon. I should've stayed sleep when I had the chance. I wonder if anyone's noticed I'm gone. From underneath my nice comforter, I dragged myself out of bed and forced myself to endure a cold shower. It wasn't numbing cold but it wasn't warm either. Then something strange was a knock on the door. I could only hear it because the sounded like he was trying to smash the door off its hinges. I was _not_ about to answer the door wrapped in a towel completely vulnerable. So I threw on the first clothes I saw and answered the door.

"Can I help you-" but then I stopped because Natsu Dragneel was at my front door.

"Hey Raphael," he said walking in. I was so surprised that I didn't even notice the flying blue cat behind him.

"So.. uh..how did you where I lived?" I blurted out. I wanted to be subtle but it just came out.

"Mirajane told us," the cat said. Holy shit it can talk!

"Hi my name is Happy," he told me. I looked at Natsu who just gave me a 'I wasn't really thinking' look.

They were just seriously standing around which annoyed the hell out of me. I flopped down on the couch and patted the seat next to me. "Come on,"I said,"I don't bite."

Natsu also flopped down on my couch and Happy perched on one of the arms. This was getting awkward. I've never sat on a couch with a guy for more than 5 seconds without making out with him.

"What brings you guys here?" I asked them. Seriously, showing up at the home of a person you barely know is a bad move.

"We weren't here when they had your welcome party and we've heard lots about you," Happy said.

"Lots about me?" I repeated. "I don't understand. Just what _kinds_ of things have you heard about me?"

"Just that you're totally badass and you have the coolest magic ever and you have a giant snake and-" I put my fingers to Natsu's lips. He was getting pretty excited.

I lowered my voice and said,"Sweetie calm down. I'm flattered you think I'm the best wizard around and all, but I haven't really done anything special.

_"Except raid a wine cellar and sleep with ten guys in the past month,"_ I heard Rogue say as he slithered in. My eyes widened as he began looking at Happy with great interest. Hunting interest. I looked at him with eyes that clearly said _no_ but he obviously didn't care. He raised his body, titled back and-

"Happy watch out!" I shouted as Rogue snapped at him. Thankfully, he'd flown out of the way just in time.

"What the heck is that?!" he shouted, clearly terrified. Before he could slither out, I dragged Rogue by the tail towards the couch.

"This," I said, "Is Rogue. My spirit animal, or Blood Viper as the term calls for it."

"Why'd he try to eat Happy?" Natsu asked.

"Oh he's just hungry that's all," I cooed, rubbing Rogue on the head. "He didn't mean it."

_"Oh I so meant to eat him Mistress but you got in my way-"_ Rogue started to say before I clamped his mouth shut with my hand.

"Well now that we've all met, I guess I'll see you guys later," I said ushering the two out.

"Wait why are you kicking us out?" Natsu protested.

"I'm going to tell you guys the truth. Before you came here, I was in the shower. You were knocking on the door so hard I though you were going to smash it into pieces. Anyway, I just through on the first thing I could find. So I think I'd like to get back to that before I freeze to death even though it was a cold shower and now I'm going to take a bath. Do you get it?"

He gave me a look, like I was choosing the bath over him which I _was_, but it really wasn't a big deal. He started pouting, giving me a puppy dog face.

"Aw," I cooed. "Keep making faces like that I might just have to ask you to join me," I said winking at him.

He blushed pinker than his hair and when he tried to say something, I stopped him saying, "Sweetie it was a joke." Then I waved goodbye and shut the door.

_"Slut,"_ Rogue joked.

"What was that?" I asked, cutting my eyes at him.

_"You just met the guy and you're already trying to get into his pants,"_ Rogue stated.

"It was a joke," I said, walking into the bathroom. " He's sweet and all, but he's not my type. Besides he's a virgin _and_ we know each other. Stealing his virginity would actually make me feel guilty."

_"Since when have you ever felt guilty?"_ Rogue asked

I turned the faucet and water streamed out and slowly began filling the tub. Rogue came slithering in, obviously confused about how I know Natsu's a virgin.

"He didn't notice at all that my clothes were light, skimpy, and were clinging to my body. My nipples were freezing and hard as fuck. Any other guy would've ogled me and would've kept joking with me after my bath comment." As the water continued to pour out, I poured in a peach/mango bubble bath. The orange liquid oozed out as I tipped the bottle upside down. When there was enough water, I stripped the rest of my clothes off and slowly slid in. The warm water sent shivers of satisfaction through my body as it began to get use to the hot temperature. I sank in lower and closed my eyes as the warmth overcame me and I dozed off.

XXxXXxXxXxXx

This sucks. All the good requests, or rather the ones that I can and actually _like_ to do, have been taken. I moped over to a table where I laid my head down in defeat. Now what am I going to do? I have enough money and all but that's all going to go away considering the things I need in order to keep myself happy. Rogue slithered against my leg and asked what we were going to do next.

"There's nothing we'd be useful for," I murmured. He didn't believe me, so he slithered over to the request board. I heard a few shouts of surprise, though I wasn't worried. Rogue has proven that he is harmless but he enjoys scaring people he came back he was cursing about how he wished he'd snuck in earlier. I didn't say anything and continued to quietly moan about my bad luck. I think I do this for attention. When I was younger, I always put my head down and moaned until someone payed attention. it's not like I was a neglected kid, I just liked the attention. But this wasn't for attention.

"Hey," I heard a voice say. I looked up and there was Lucy.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked. Couldn't she tell I wanted to be alone?

"There's no requests that I can do," I told her.

She looked over at the board then said, "What do you mean? There's plenty on the board there."

I sighed. Clearly she didn't understand what I had said. "I mean that _I _can't do them. None them fall into my category of magical skills."

"Then what kind of magic can you do?" she asked. I knew this was coming sooner or later. Rogue gave me a _don't you dare tell her_ look.

"I told you it was dangerous and-"

She cut me off saying,"Yeah I know but what _exactly_ is so dangerous about it?"

"Fine," I huffed. "I use a very rare magic called Morphomgaus Blood magic. I have the power to drain people of the blood in their body within minutes. Rogue here is my spirit animal, a magical animal that I am bound with for eternity until the day either of us dies. And that's all I can say for now before Rogue yells at me."

She looked at me shocked, almost as if I told her a big lie. Sure I may have left out _some_ important details but is it really my obligation to tell people my life story? I put my feet up on the table and leaned back in my chair. Lucy now had a _you can kill people within minutes?_ look on her face. Good, she should be scared.

"You don't believe me do you?" I asked her. It was alright if she didn't. I'm the one who knows the truth and that's what's important.

"Oh I believe you," she said. "I just didn't know that there was even magic out there like that." Well I can't get mad at her now. She is only a kid, so how would she know about something so rare?

After about six hours of freeloading, I decided to leave. Rogue was tired and slithered slowly behind me. As I was about to open the door, someone opened it from the other side. It was Gray. He was wet from head to toe, which made his sexiness even more obvious. It was raining, which just made my day even better. I threw on my hood and walked into the rain. The air was warm, so the rain felt good on my exposed skin. I wanted to enjoy this moment, so I walked slowly. When we finally made it inside the apartment, I quickly stripped off my clothes and put on my gown. It was a soft blue that was an inch past my knee with a ribbon that lined it. It had bows on its straps. I turned out all the lights and went to sleep.

Well I tried to sleep. But I couldn't help but notice the street light and how pretty the rain looked when it hit the light. I thought about Lucy, and how persistent she is. Rogue would say she's nosy. Maybe if I didn't like her, I'd call her that too, but then again she is just a kid. Natsu on the other hand was different. He was so excited about everything and easy to mess with. However, there's this passion in him, a warmth that I can't help but feel emanate from him. Or maybe it's just body heat. I wish I could tell them about my magic and what I can do. But if more people were to find out what would they say?

Wizards part of dark guilds always laugh and ask me to join them. They take assassination jobs, something we've never come to terms on. I could never kill someone for hire. Ok that's a lie. I _have_ killed someone for hire. But they were people who deserved to die. Dark guilds killed everyone. They didn't care who they just killed. Dad said that magic like that is messy and isn't used considerately. He said that my magic isn't something to waste like that. It's special. I remember what Rogue had told me a few months after our binding….

*FLASHBACK*

_"Hey you", I heard a voice say. I was sitting in my room of our new house. Daddy didn't want me to do much because of my arm. He and Ezekiel left me alone all day to do God knows what, and I just sit here, with a dull throbbing pain in my arm. The puncture wounds where my viper had bitten me, had closed up. I was all alone with it._

_"Hey!" I heard the voice say. There was no one else here except me and… the viper. I looked down at the floor and saw it slither next to my bed. My first instinct was to shrink away, but something inside me told me not to._

_"You can talk?" I asked. I watched it to see it open its mouth and moves its lips to form words. But it didn't. Instead, I heard his voice in my head._

_"Of course I can talk," it said. "How else are we supposed to work together?" I tried to talk with my mind my too, but he just laughed at me saying,_

_"I can only do it to you. Your magic isn't very developed plus, you can just talk out loud."_

_"How come?" I asked._

_"Isn't it obvious?" he said. "We are bound for eternity. That's what magic does."_

_I slowly stood up and walked over to him. I sat on the floor and looked into his golden eyes._

_"Why'd you have to bite me so hard?" I asked him. _

_He looked away from me for a moment and then said,"It was the first time I had ever tasted a drop of blood. And yours is so rich with energy and magic. It was hard not to want to pull away."_

_"But it hurt you jerk!" I shouted at him. How dare he say that to me, like I was his potential next meal._

_"If you're going to be bound to me we need to get one thing straightened out. You can't cry every time something hurts. You have the power to do something even more painful to other people, so you crying is actually pretty sad."_

_He's really straight forward. It's a little rude, but I guess I can deal with it._

_"What exactly are we going to do?" I asked._

_"Your father will teach you the spells and stances to take. But I will teach you to be elusive. You need to learn how to see in the blackest of nights like a viper. To hear from far distances like a viper. To stretch and flex your body like a viper. And most importantly to strike like a viper._

_"So the whole point of a spirit animal is to become it?"_

_"So you are more than just a whiny kid," it said. "Oh yes. The Morphomagus wizard is to become one with its spirit animal, meaning they are to be the same. The boar charges head on, the bear uses all its strength, the wolf scratches and bites, and the hawk swoops down for the kill. All of us, bound to our master, help them fight in the most passionate of ways: Like an animal."_

_In my head, I heard it laugh and pondered what he'd said. Fight like an animal…like a viper. But I already know how to fight hand to hand combat. I almost beat Ezekiel this time too. I laid down next t o the snake and did something I'd never think I'd have enough courage to do. I took my hand gently stroked the snake. His skin felt cool to the tough at first, but then it slowly became warm. His scales were smooth, but their continuous pattern made them feel rigid. I continued to stroke him until my thoughts were in place._

_I sat up and got back into bed. He slithered over, but he didn't get in. He just sat there, curled up by my bed._

_"Master may I say what soft hands you have? Thank you for the lovely stroking," he said._

_"Your welcome but please don't call me master," I said. "I am only 9 years old."_

_"Well then how about Mistress? Calling you by your first name is too informal for me," He said._

_"Ok then what can I call you?" I thought about everything he did and said. He seemed to be different than the other snakes were. They didn't talk to me at all. _

_"How about Rogue?" I suggested._

_"Oh that's a really cool name!" he beamed. Rogue then slithered up on my bed and curled up by my feet. Silence entered the room. _

_"Oh I hope we can be strong together Rogue," I said as I adjusted my pillow._

_"Me too Mistress. And thank you for letting me sleep on your bed."_

_"Just don't shed any scales on it," I murmured as I dozed off._

_"That's just a rumor!" he claimed. I smiled as I drifted into a deep sleep._

*END FLASHBACK*

I remember the day of my welcoming party. Makarov had started talking about a warning he'd gotten from the Magic Council. But then he'd burned it, and said that if we listened to rules then we wouldn't be able to strive as the great wizards we are and stay number one. So when I think about it, why give me the home visit about respecting the rues? Bullshit. No one in Fairy Tail follows rules. Natsu destroys buildings and eats everything. Lucy makes a fool of herself when her celestial spirits don't listen to her. And I… I drain the life out of monsters. Which isn't illegal at all unless I use it on people. Which according to Rogue is more fun than on monsters. I think he likes the sound of their strangled last breaths? He's dark like that.

Anyway, I've been keeping up with Natsu and Lucy. Mostly, I just follow them to jobs within a 10 mile radius. Then I rely on eavesdropping on their conversations. Happy has a big mouth and whenever fish is involved, he just won't stop talking. When that gets annoying to the point where I wish I let Rogue eat him, I talk to Mirajane. Apparently Mira's a big gossip. Somehow all our conversations about Natsu and Lucy lead to Gray. Gray is like Natsu's friend and his rival. Mira says that although they constantly fight, they can actually get along pretty well. She refuses to tell me what kind of magic he does. Says I should just go and ask him. I'm not going to do that. Although, getting close to Gray (platonically), may actually help me keep an eye on these fools. It will be less awkward talking about Natsu than just sitting there in silence like idiots.

But then Gray is rather… unapproachable. His aura is cold and don't get me started on his gaze. His cold piercing gaze. It seems as though he only does it to me. So what did I do? I've only had a 1 minute conversation with the guy and even before that he would give me this look. And it felt… hypnotic. Almost as if he knew exactly what I was about, like he knew that I was thinking about him or going to think about him later. Which if that was the case he was completely right. I don't know what it is. Strangely enough though, I like it.

"Those idiots!" I heard a voice shout. I looked up from my table and saw it was Makarov.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Rogue. Everyone was quiet whenever Makarov yelled.

"Shh!" he whispered. "Listen."

"I can't believe they actually went and did that!" Makarov shouted.

"I don't know how they could've gotten their hands on it," I heard Mira say. Who's gotten their hands on what? Did someone steal from us?

"Well I don't care because when they come back after realizing just how hard an S-class job is, they will be put through the most severe of all punishments!" Makarov yelled. He was so red I thought he was going to pas out or worse, have a heart attack. So someone who wasn't a certified S-class mage took an S-class job from the second floor. But that board's on the second floor so how did they do it without getting caught? And most importantly, _who_ did it?

Then I noticed a pink haired flame thrower and his little blue cat and blond sidekicks were gone. _No_. They wouldn't. But considering how Natsu gets when he puts his mind to something, I'm sure they'd figure something out. Makarov looked over in my direction but, not directly at me. "I need you to go and get Natsu and Lucy back," he said to who ever he was talking to. Maybe he _was_ talking to me.I mean he did put me in of watching them. As I was going to step up to tell Makarov I would get them back, I heard a rich silky voice.

"I'll get them back Master," he said. It was Gray. "I just need to know where they're headed."

Makarov turned to Mira who then said, "They took the Galuna island job. So that means you'l have to get to them at the docks before someone takes them across the water."

He is stealing my job! I'm the one who's supposed to watch over Natsu and Lucy not Gray! I didn't think they'd pull a dumb stunt like this but I'm definitely going after them.

"Makarov," I said loudly, "I'm going too."

"Raphael you really don't have t-" he started but I wasn't about to hear a pity speech.

"Yes I do. I was put in charge of them so I should be the ones to bring them 's bad enough I didn't even notice they had gone."

"It's strange how a new member like you wants to go chase after to idiots she barely knows," Gray said icily.

"And what's this about you being put in charge of them?" he asked." You think just 'cause they're younger than us that you're obligated to watch over them?" That's it this jackass is going down.

"Oh I'm sorry do you think you're getting some kind of reward out of bringing the two back?" I asked. "It's not even a real job, it's practically like charity. We don't _have _to get them back but if you really cared about them, you wouldn't question someone else coming along to help. This is an S-class quest not some random job."

It seemed to get quiet as Gray and I argued, but I wasn't backing down. He wants to start a fight so he's going to get one.

"If you haven't noticed, which I doubt you have since you seem so busy trying to _not_ stay in here as long as possible, I've been at this guild longer than some brat like you, so I _do_ care about Natsu and Lucy. Meaning I'm going to get them _alone_."

"Who're calling a brat? I'm two years younger than you, you-"

"Raphael! Gray!" Makarov shouted. "That's enough out of both of you. Considering both you care so much about your friends and the situation that Raphael so easily agreed to put herself in, you're _both_ going to get Natsu and Lucy back."

As I was about to protest, Makarov said," There will not be a discussion about this. You two are going to Galuna island together and that's final."


	5. Did I really have a choice?

I can't believe someone so sexy and so nice to me earlier could be such a … _jerk_. Gray Fullbuster is a total two faced bastard. Does he not remember when he was so polite to me when he'd fallen on me before? And what's with this whole calling me a brat thing? I'm 21 and he's 23. That's a two year difference, so I don't see how I'm a brat. The guys I've stayed with for more than just a quick fuck say I'm very mature for my age. And I agree with them 100%.

I sat on the train, trying hard not to look at Gray, let alone make eye contact with him. What did I do to make him so pissed? He didn't seem like the type of guy who could just blow up like that. If Rogue hadn't been bound to me, he would've attacked Gray brutally. Rogue doesn't like it when people yell at me. Speaking of, he felt pretty tight wrapped around my leg. I had to morph him 11 times smaller than his size so that we could travel properly together. I had him slither up my pants leg where he then proceeded to wrap around my leg. Twice already he'd squeezed too hard, and this was the third.

As I bent down to gently pull him, I heard Gray murmur, "Sorry."

"What was that?" I asked even though I perfectly knew well what he said.

"I said I'm sorry. I was out of line to just lash out on you like that. I guess I didn't understand what you meant when you said Lucy and Natsu were your responsibility," he said. I gathered up enough courage to look at him and I saw he was genuinely sorry for what he did.

"What? New members can't step on marked territory?" I joked. Rogue hissed a bit because he thought that was funny. Seriously though. He acted as though I snatched his job request out of his hand.

He chuckled a bit. "I guess so. Again I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"I was actually pretty surprised," I told him. "You were so nice to me before and then you turn around and scream in my face. I didn't know what I had done to make you so angry." I gave him big doe eyes to show just how much he'd hurt my feelings. I hate making doe eyes. It's such a typical girl move. It always worked no matter what, but with Gray it felt like it didn't. Like he was immune to my eyes.

I finally looked up at him. He was wearing a black a shirt underneath an open navy blue button shirt with his usual dark pants. At this time he was gazing out the window, slowly dozing off to sleep. He looked so innocent and cute, qualities of a boy and not a man. But it doesn't matter to me whether Gray looks like a boy or a man. We're both just here to get Natsu and Lucy, possibly scare the shit out of them, and then bring them back to be punished.

When the train finally stopped in our station, I shook Gray awake. We walked out into the streets of Hargeon. There were so many merchant's stalls selling anything you could think of. Clothes, jewels, food, perfume, even underwear! But we were looking for the docks. Natsu and Lucy needed a boat to get across to Galuna island. Unfortunately, no one would tell us thing about where we could find a boat to take us across or even where Natsu and Lucy were.

I sighed heavily after about ten minutes and said, "Well I guess we're going to have to go with plan B."

"What's plan B?" Gray asked. Before I answered him I tapped Rogue to tell him he didn't need to be wrapped around my leg anymore. He slithered off and instantly returned to his normal size. Then I handed Gray my bags which for some reason I was told to pack.

"Hold on, "Gray said, "What are you doing?"

"This," I said as I plucked the first three buttons of my shirt open. Yes, I was resorting to the greatest feminine move of all, sex appeal. I turned towards Gray asking, "So how do I look?"

"Ummm…. cute I guess." He was nervous and blushing furiously. Is he…? No he couldn't be I would be able to tell but maybe….

"Oh come on Gray," I purred, pulling his arm into my cleavage. I slowly turned his jaw so he could really get a good look at me and force him to stare deep into my eyes.

"Now tell me what you see," I whispered.

"I have the strange sensation to tell you everything you ask. But I think you look incredibly sexy." I smiled at him then I let go of his arm.

"That was plan B,"I said. "If they won't tell us anything then we should give them a little… how should I put this…_ encouragement_."

"You think that putting your breasts on display is actually going to get these guys to tell us anything?" he asked.

"It worked on you didn't it? You did you say that you were ready to tell me anything," I smirked."But that's not all it is."

"Then what else is there to it?"

I looked back at him. There was no possible way he was a virgin. "I'm not telling you all my secrets," I winked.

XxXxXXXxxXx

About 5 minutes later, we had a possible sighting of Natsu and Lucy heading down the right side of the docks. But everyone was saying we were crazy to go to Galuna. What's so bad about it anyway? Oh wait. The request was to lift some kind of curse off the island so maybe there is something bad about it. But that's none of our business since neither Gray or I are qualified to go lift the curse. As we were leaving to go find Natsu and Lucy, I heard one of the merchants say something to Gray. Using my super sensitive hearing I heard him say, "How 'bout you go look for your friends and leave your cute sister with me? Don't worry I'll take _real_ good care of her for you." Gray rolled his eyes and hit the guy upside his head.

"What'd you do that for?" I asked him.

"I'm not that stupid that I didn't know what he meant when he said he'd take '_real good care_' of you. And why does he think we're brother and sister?" Gray explained.

"Well thank you for defending my honor Gray but it wouldn't have mattered to me. Telling him you're my brother makes it easier for him to know that you have zero chance of getting with me," I told him.

"Oh well not that I'm insulting you or anything but, I don't think I want to get with you," he said as we walked. How dare he say that about me! Instead of going off on him, I listened to him.

"It's just that we're part of the same guild and if something were to happen between us… it would be weird seeing each other almost every day. And maybe it would be so bad that one of us would have to quit Fairy Tail. I wouldn't want to cause something like that you know?"

Wow. I didn't think Gray was so… thoughtful about these types of things. maybe something happened? Did he think I was coming on to him earlier? It was just a joke. I don't see Gray in that way.

I stopped walking. "Look Gray," I started waiting for him to stop too. "I understand what you're saying and I would _never_ come on to a guild member. I already told myself not to do that when I first joined so if it ever feels like I'm getting too close, just say the word and I'll back off."

I looked up at him, and as he opened his mouth to say something, I saw a flash of pink. I grabbed Gray's wrist and began to run.

"Where are we going?" Gray shouted.

"I think I just saw Natsu!" I dragged him up and down the docks until I saw them. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were trying to get a sailor to take them over to Galuna island. We hid behind some crates so that we could hear the conversation. They were arguing with the fisherman, and judging by their expressions they were losing.

"I guess we'll just have to come back tomorrow," Lucy sighed. But Natsu wouldn't here a word of failure.

"No way! Let's just go back and ask someone-" but when he'd turned around, he came face to face with me and Gray. Rogue slithered behind us.

"Raphael! Gray!" Lucy exclaimed. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We're here to take you two idiots back to guild," Gray said grabbing Natsu before he could run away.

"But why?" he asked struggling to get free. Natsu's cute and all but is he really that stupid?

"Why? Why?" I said. "Because neither one of you are legally qualified to take this job anyway. Not only are you endangering yourself but do you have any idea what would've happened to those people on the island if you had tried and failed? And what exactly does a fire mage and a celestial mage know about lifting curses?"

Lucy looked like she was ready to get down on her knees and grovel about how sorry she was and Natsu looked like he wanted to yell at me at the same time as looking utterly defeated. Gray looked at me like I was a mother who had just scolded her children.

"Besides," I said, "It's not like there's anyone here who even wants to take you so you guys should just give up."

"I could take you kids across," a mysterious voice said. I turned around and there was a man with a small blue cap and a long beige coat. He had a long mustache an his eyebrows looked like he was constantly frowning. Maybe they were stuck that way.

"I can take you guys to Galuna island," he said again. I felt his body heat radiating off of him so I took a step back. How he suddenly appeared without me noticing was a problem.

"It's okay," Gray said, "We're actually just here to get these two back-"

"But you have to help!" He cried grabbing Gray by his sleeve.

"And why is that?" I asked cooly. Since he was so desperate to have us be taken to big bad Galuna island then i suppose he's worth listening to. He smiled this crescent shaped smile. "I'll explain on the way to the island."

XxXxXXxXxXxXx

Bobo, which was the name of this mysterious sailor, told us the story of Galuna island. Apparently, about a few years back, the moon started to bathe the island in a mysterious purple light. When this happened, the inhabitants of the island, turned into demons. As he was telling us his story, Bobo removed part of his cloak to reveal one his arms which was that of a demon. Unlike Lucy, I hadn't gasped. Monsters weren't very scary to me and compared to Bobo's arm, I'm the real demon here.

"I left as quickly as possible and ever since I have not gone back," Bobo said. Suddenly, something small and dark appeared on the horizon. Is that Galuna island? It is.

"I see it, I see it!" Happy shouted. The island was about 50 yards away, but it was getting bigger by the minute. When I looked up, I saw the moon and then I saw the purple light that leaked from it.

"Hey that's what you're talking about right-" but I stopped talking as I realized that Bobo had disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Gray asked. "I didn't hear any waves if he jumped into the water." I didn't hear waves but it felt like I a heard the faint flapping sound of bird's wings. But why would a bird be flying in the middle of the ocean?

"Uh guys we've got bigger problems," Lucy said sounding a bit frightened. "One we have no one rowing this boat and two… there's a monster wave headed this way!"

I looked up and saw a humungous wave looming over us. All we could do was scream until the waves came crashing down, drowning out our screams. I felt around in the cool water for Rogue, and when I felt his scaly body, I wrapped him around my body, my final act before I drifted off into an abyss of darkness.

XxXxXXxXxXxXx

_Hours Later….._

I woke up, sputtering and coughing up water. Rogue was still concealing my body from the outside world. I climbed up the sides of his body and slowly pushed his head more to the other side of his body. Immediately, the dreaded sunlight hit my face. As my eyes adjusted to the change of light, I saw my new surroundings. There was sand everywhere and the sound of waves crashing against the beach was clear in the crisp air. As I turned I saw Natsu and Gray, followed by Lucy, all unconscious on the beach.

Lucy was the first to get up, so I followed her to where the guys were. It was a mess. Happy was wiggling around, trying to get free of the sand. The were bits and pieces of boat everywhere. Luckily, our bags had made it in one piece and hopefully they weren't heavily soaked. I helped Lucy grab Natsu and Gray and pull them upwards. Neither had opened his eyes, and I sent Lucy to get water to splash on them.

"But what are you going to do?" she asked. As this was said, Rogue eventually made it to where we were.

"I'm going to perform a special form of my magic and if it doesn't work, then I need you to have water ready," I said studying Gray's face. Without those piercing eyes, he looked like a little boy, so vulnerable and weak. I didn't like this at all.

"So what exactly are you going to do? I thought you could only draw blood," she asked. She has such a good heart it hurts to think of her as nosy.

"Because I have practiced my magic with Rogue for a long time, I have learned to do other things with it than just drain it," I told her. "Now will you please get that water?"

She nodded and headed down towards the beach. Good. She was far enough where she wouldn't be able to see anything.

_"Mistress would you like me to assist you in any way during this spell?"_ Rogue asked as he slithered up to Gray and Natsu.

"Yes," I told him. "Please recite the spell for me once more and tell me what I'm suppose to be doing with my magic."

_"As you wish Mistress,"_ he replied and Rogue recited the spell as said:

_The blood that runs through these veins_

_I command you, Rise up_

_So that your Master may rise again_

As Rogue had instructed me before, I got down to the floor and put my hands on each of Natsu's forearms. I breathed in slowly and began to use my magic. i was performing the revival spell. It worked on people whom were unconscious and in comas. Sometimes it worked on people who's hearts were no longer beating but that not only had to be done immediately after but, it had to performed on the heart and the most revival spells, the blood is touched by the magic and energized, causing the person to awaken. Since my magic can cruelly draw blood from my victims (I should say enemies but most were victims), I can very slowly draw up the blood from the person's veins during the revival spell. However I have to be touching their arms or else the blood will come up too quickly and I'll end up killing the person I'm trying to help.

I felt a jolt in Natsu's arms as the blood started to flow within them. It soon grew hot and Natsu's eyes started to flutter. I jumped off of him and crawled over to Gray. I did the same thing except Gray wasn't so quick to respond. Nor was his blood. I felt very little movement within his strong arms. _C'mon c'mon_. Soon his blod began to run through his veins. Strange enough though, his blood was _ice cold_. Why was it cold? Blood only ran cold when the person was dead, and I made sure that both boys' hearts were beating just fine. So why was Gray's cold?

"Lucy hurry up with that water!" I shouted. I heard Natsu groan as he began to open his eyes, and Gray was starting to come to. Just as quickly as I'd hollered for her, Lucy had come running with a bucket of water, ready to start dumping it. I hopped out of the way as she immediately dumped water on Natsu and then Gray. Both shouted as I assumed that the cold water felt strange on their bodies.

"What was that for?" Gray complained as he looked up at me. He gave me some annoyed look like I had just thrown water on him as a joke.

"You should both be thanking me since I just seriously saved your lives. You were knocked out cold and we've got work to do."

"Work?" he said as he began to get up. These questions are just going to slow me down the longer I stop to answer them.

"Yeah. I'm already stranded here. Might as well find some work if I;m ever gonna find a way off."

"Yeah Gray I mean what are you gonna we're _all_ stranded here," Natsu pointed out.

"You're right which means I guess I have to come with you," he said smiling. "There's no way I'm going to let you three fools get S-class glory without me."

"Okay then let's go!" Lucy said. "We have to find the village chief which is in the middle of the island."

As we all followed Lucy and Natsu, who decided to bicker over the map, Gray pulled my arm back.

"What, what's wrong?" I asked. "Getting cold feet over an S-class job?"

"No that's not it," he whispered. "Keep walking."

Why is he acting so strange? As we walked through the tropical forests, Gray kept his hand on my arm. There was a force in his grip, not bone crushing tight, but a determination not to let me go.

"Next time you use your magic, make sure your eyes stay the same color," he whispered suddenly after 5 minutes of awkwardness.

"So what color are they?" I asked since there was no point in acting.

"Bright red. Normally violet red am I right?" he asked. I nodded as we continued to walk. Natsu and Lucy were conversing about something, but it didn't interest me in the slightest.

"So what'd you do?" Gray asked. "To me and Natsu that is."

"I used a revival spell on you. I… commanded the blood in your veins to flow again so you'd wake up faster. Natsu's blood is warm like fire and yours… your blood is as cold as ice. I didn't know what to do to you. Blood is only cold if you're… dead."

Gray stopped walking. He traced his arms, specifically the parts I had touched.

"So then… what are you exactly? I know you told Lucy you had to tell her if she's the one who threw water on us." his voice was low but he wasn't angry.

"I'm a Morphomagus Blood mage. It's a rare magic that gives me the power to… drain people of their blood within minutes." I looked down. I hated telling people about what I can do. I was waiting, waiting for the hostile disgust to rise in his voice ready to call me _demon _or _monster_. But none of that happened. Instead Gray clasped his hand around my and gave it a squeeze.

"Well then I'd liked to thank you for reviving us instead of draining us of our blood. Maybe some day you can explain it to me just how you did it," he said as he dropped my hand. He began to walk so we'd catch up with Natsu and Lucy.

"Yeah. Maybe," I whispered to myself.

XxXxXxXXXxXxXxXX

*FLASHBACK*

_"Your daughter is nothing but a monster!" one of the mothers yelled at my father as I hid behind him. I knew what I did and I was hoping Daddy didn't find out._

_"And whatever do you mean Mrs. Niska?" he asked._

_"Look at what she did to my daughter!" she screeched as she yanked Katlyn's arm. It had a horrific scratch mark courtesy of yours truly._

_"And what does that have to do with Raphael?" he asked. Either Daddy was on my side or he was just gathering more evidence in order to give me severe punishment._

_"That monster tried to claw my arm off!" Katlyn yelled._

_"Well maybe if you had left me alone like I had warned you the first three times then your skin wouldn't be under my nails," I snarled as I stepped in front my dad. _

_"And look what she did to my Danny!" another mom yelled. She pushed her battered son forward to show my dad._

_"Didn't you teach you teach your son not to hit girls? This ounce wants to pick a fight you better be sure as hell he's going to get one with me."_

_"Raphael," my dad said. "Language."_

_"Sorry Daddy."_

_"So what are you going to do about it Kenta?" Ms. Niska asked glaring at me._

_"I'm not going to do anything. You on the other hand are going to teach your children not to pick fights they obviously can't win. My daughter did just as she was taught to do," Daddy said. I was shocked. I thought I was in trouble big time. The mothers looked ready to claw my dad's eyes out. So I decided to step up for him too._

_"You have 30 seconds to get off my property before I drain you of all the blood in your bodies and feed you to my snake Rogue. I am a Morphomagus Blood mage. Now STEP OFF!" I hollered. They thought I was serious so they all ran off._

_"You know we have to move again right?" my dad asked as he closed the door to our home._

_"So what?" I said. "This place is full of nothing but punks and wimps. I want to go to a place where I can do whatever I want."_

_"You want to go back to Fiore?" he asked. _

_"Yeah. I guess I do."_

_He led me to the stairs. "Then come. We have packing to do my little monster."_

*END FLASHBACK*

"Check out that gate," I heard Natsu say. I was so busy daydreaming that I hadn't even noticed that we had arrived the village gates. They were massive probably 40 feet tall made entirely out of thick sturdy logs of wood.

Lucy called out once and when there was no answer, it seemed that the only option was to scale the gate and sneak in. Natsu thought so too, but when he voice this idea, he got an automatic no from Lucy. Seconds later, figures appeared at the top of the gate. They questioned us about who we were and didn't believe we were from Fairy Tail. Then they asked to see our emblems. Everyone removed whatever was covering their emblem. I pulled back my hair, exposing the maroon colored stamp on my neck. Rogue had bowed his head, showing his white emblem. Lucy's was pink on her hand and Natsu's a dark red on his shoulder. I watched as Gray lifted up his shirt to reveal the dark blue emblem on his chest. I was red at these ears as I looked at those delicious abs of his that I could just eat off of.

_You dirty little slut. Stop staring it's rude. _

"Shut up Rogue," I murmured as the huge wooden gate began to rise so that we could enter.

**Well as you can see, I'm using the plot of the anime itself to mold my own story. I've obviously put some twists on scenes that have or haven't happened but it's all good. I've also changed the ages of characters to better compliment my story. And this heat between Raphael and Gray? It gets hotter and hotter. Merry XMAS and Happy new Year!**


	6. Personal reasons

When we entered the village, we were surrounded by people cloaked from head to toe. Even if they were a harmless bunch of villagers, they still looked pretty shady to me and if one thing went wrong I would not hesitate to save myself and my friends. _Friends. _A word that rarely ever left my lips. One of the villagers stepped up and introduced himself as the village chief, Moka. As usual, I wasn't really paying attention, so a shock had come to me when the villagers removed their cloaks. Just like Bobo, they were each plagued with body parts that were permanently demon. They either had horns or patches of wildly colored skin. Some looked even more demon than they looked human.

Everyone kept saying it was a curse, but Gray wasn't so convinced. When he asked if it may have been some kind of disease, the chief gave him a wide eyed looked. They had consulted with every doctor they could. It had to be a curse if nothing else was causing it. Moka had said the exact same thing that Bobo had. It all started a few years ago when the moon started to cast a purple light over the island. Just as he said this, Happy had noticed that moon was coming from behind the clouds. Once it was fully uncovered, the whole area started to get a purple glow.

Suddenly the villagers started to scream in agony. They began to violently shift into demon forms. Their screams… it's the same sounds that come out of people when I drain them. Suddenly a memory came to my mind. _I was very young, before I had been bound to Rogue. I was hiding in the bushes, Ezekiel beside me. So we were hiding again weren't we? And then I heard it. The ear splitting sounds of the enemies of my father dying._ The sounds were so great inside my head that I had pressed my hand to it.

_"Mistress is everything alright?" _Rogue asked. I nodded at him telling him not to worry about me.

"It's just a headache," I whispered almost to myself.

When the villagers finally stopped shifting, I couldn't help but try and not stare. It wasn't that their appearances scared me. It was just that I knew that staring at them like they were freaks was wrong. I want to help them, but the only person that I know that's good enough at breaking curses is my brother and _he abandoned me_. So what exactly can I do?

_"He did not just say that,"_ I heard Rogue hiss.

"What? What's going on?" I whispered.

_"While you were so busy getting over your 'headache' which I believe you're lying about, Natsu just said these villagers look cool. How inconsiderate can you get?"_

Just as Rogue had said this, Lucy had said the exact same thing to Natsu . They don't want to look like this obviously because then they wouldn't have made the request.

"This," chief Moka said, "Is what happens when the moon comes out. We change back into our human forms in the morning, but some of us aren't as fortunate. They began to lose their minds and so we were forced to kill them."

"I kind of understand," I said mostly to myself. But I guess everyone heard me so they turned around and looked at me.

"Do you now?" Gray asked. "Care to explain?"

"Well I guess I know what it feels like to have to destroy something you care about, at least even a bit," I said, but they still didn't get it so I had to further explain myself. "Fine. Their people went crazy and would've killed them all. They saved both themselves and the insane ones by killing them. The ones who went mad wouldn't have to suffer anymore and then they wouldn't kill anyone. Do you understand now?"

"Even so," Moka said, "We only have one task for you: Destroy the moon."

_Hours Later….._

"You heard the chief said we've got to stay out of the moonlight!" Lucy hissed at Happy as she yanked him out of the window. "I'm not going to risk turning into a demon."

"I don't know Lucy, " I said as I gathered my clothes. "Those guys they can't compare to what I've turned into and I actually look a little less scary."

"You've turned into a demon?" Happy asked.

"Oh yeah but only once. I'd had Rogue and everything, but it still took a lot of energy out of me. I wonder how famous I'll be if I can destroy the moon."

"Do they seriously think we can destroy the moon?" Gray asked, obviously trying hard not to pry into my private life.

"I wonder how many punches it'll take," Natsu said, gazing up at the ceiling.

"You can't be serious right?" I asked. "I was just joking about destroying the moon. There's no wizard alive on Earth that is strong enough to destroy the moon. Not even God himself would be crazy enough to do that."

"But isn't that what we were asked to do?" he asked. "We can't just back out of a job, it'll make Fairy Tail look weak." He is right. I mean, if we went back to Fairy Tail after going on a job request without actually _doing_ the request, we'll be the laughingstock of Fairy Tail.

"What they're asking can't be done," Gray said.

"So we can't destroy the moon obviously," I said, "But there might be some other way to lift the curse from the island. I might know a thing or two about curses-" but I was cut off when a shirt was thrown at me.

Gray was taking off his clothes casually, like it was no big deal to be stripping in front of your friends. Okay so it not be one for a guy but to me it is.

"What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

"Relax Raphael it's nothing to freak out about," Natsu said.

"Didn't you know Gray liked to be naked?" Lucy asked.

"I've only known him for a day! How was I supposed to know he liked to pass time being naked," I said as Gray took off his socks.

"You'd have to find out sooner or later," he said. "Well with the day I've had I'm going to bed. Aren't you going to get changed Raphael?" he asked me.

"Yeah but I was hoping to take a bath first," I told him. I may not be some prissy girly girl, but I do believe it's natural to want to bathe after being washed upon the beach by the salty, salty sea.

"You don't need a bath," he said. "It's not like you've got a date or anything."

"Well I'm sorry that as a girl I like feeling clean!" I pouted.

"So what you're saying is that Lucy doesn't mind being unclean even though she's a girl too?" Natsu asked. He wants me to bring up the bath situation again doesn't he?

"No. If Lucy wants to take a bath she can come along too. But Natsu you know you can always come with me if you want. My offer still stands."

He blushed furiously. "S-s-so you were s-serious?" he asked.

"Wait what the hell is going on here? Why are you sexually harassing Natsu?" Gray yelled.

"He started it when he decided to visit my house. Hey I'm just trying to _enjoy a friend's company _in anyway I can," I said.

"You went to her house? What is wrong with you Natsu?" Lucy shouted. Oh the drama a girl can cause in one sentence. As they all fought about how perverted it is to take a bath with a girl, I slowly slipped out the door to the bathhouse.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

It was around midnight when I came back to our little hut. Natsu and Gray were snoring like fog horns, and poor Lucy was still awake suffering through it all. And what the hell is Gray doing sprawled all over my space? I said girls in the middle, guys on the ends with space in-between. But apparently all the beds were moved together and Gray was all over my spot.

"I can't sleep. Not when the beast and the perv keep snoring," Lucy mumbled. She looked up at me. "I should've gone to the bathhouse with you Raphael."

"You may be right. I could hear these two from a mile away if I was far enough," I replied as I slid under the covers. I had to push Gray over to the side. Unlike his blood, his body was warm and his skin was smooth. After a few nudges, he moved onto to his side mumbling, "Could've just… asked me… to move…"

I rolled my eyes as I finally submerged my body under the covers and closed them. I've lived with men my whole life ,so I've learned how to tune out even the loudest of snores. After 15 minutes, I was nudged by Lucy.

"How can you be falling asleep? They've ben snoring like this for hours," she asked.

"If you've lived with men your whole life like me, you learn to tune shit like this out. Just close your eyes and drift. That's how I learned," I told her.

I flipped over and saw Gray. His hair was falling between his eyes and his snores sounded so…cute. Cute? Can snores be cute? Gray started to talk in his sleep, mostly about how he had lots of space before I'd come back to bed. I smiled. He's so adorable. Always rambling off to himself during a conversation, like I didn't notice. And he's so impressionable. And sweet. He's seems to really care about protecting the virtue of a woman, even if that woman is me.

I yawned quietly. It's time to go to bed. If we're going to figure this out, we need to get as much sleep as we can.

I woke up first earlier the next morning. I had to kick Gray a hundred times to get his legs off me (they felt cold) and then there was this whole debate over who gets to change first and who has to wait outside. I teased Natsu that he could change with us girls, which caused him to blush a fiery red. After that, the boys wouldn't stop whining and complaining about how early it was and how tired they were.

"Did you not hear yourselves snoring?" Lucy asked. "You idiots kept me up all night!"

"We did, did we? Well Raphael, were kept up all night by our snoring?" Gray asked, smirking at me with his beautiful eyes.

"Nope. I've lived with men my whole life. Your snoring was like a dull buzzing to me. Though you were right in my ear," I said, cutting my eyes at him.

"Well _maybe_ if _someone_ hadn't pushed me all the way to the edge, then I wouldn't have to creep in closer. Just because I'm comfortable with less clothes on, doesn't mean I _like_ the cold," he said, getting in my face.

I heard Natsu cough, "Liar!" under his breath.

"_Creep in closer_?" I repeated. "You've officially earned the title Pervert. Do you know where your limbs were? Touching places they shouldn't be that's where."

Gray blushed and started to say something but he stopped. There would be no point in arguing the subject since we had to get moving.

We had left the village and the giant wooden gate behind and walked into the lush green forest. The wind was crisp and fresh in the air and vines entangled themselves on trees, like skinny green snakes. The trees towered over our heads as we walked through the open and clear space. After about 10 minutes of walking, Lucy decided she was tired and decided she was going to use other means of travel. She whipped out one of her keys and called, "Open! Gate of the clock constellation! Horologium!" And out of a magic circle came a walking, talking clock. Lucy then climbed into a small compartment of the clock and on we went.

After 30 minutes of walking, Natsu started to contemplate what would happen if we had actually destroyed the moon. They had come up with good reasons, but then they started to get stupid which, had pissed Lucy off. I thought it was funny how Horologium had to talk for Lucy, since we couldn't hear her. _"How lazy," _Rogue hissed. He had found it quite annoying that Lucy had such audacity to use one of her spirits to carry her. He also didn't like how Lucy wasn't dressed appropriately for a request, which I had to agree on. Her skirt was cute and all, but you're not supposed dress cutely for monsters are you?

Rogue didn't seem to be the only one to think Lucy was lazy. Natsu and Gray both agreed that it was just lazy to summon celestial spirits because you didn't want to walk. Before they could all get into a fight about who's lazy, I stepped in.

"I don't think she's being lazy," I said. "I just think she's hiding in there because she doesn't want anyone to see her panties."

I could see Lucy blush and say through Horologium, "That's not true!"

"Then why else?" I asked. "Did you not pack anything appropriate to wear on this request? You do know that a skirt is not the way to go don't you?"

"Don't you dare get started on what's appropriate and what's not," Gray said.

"Hey, I'm not the one prancing around stripping down every 5 minutes, unlike you," I said.

"Come on guys concentrate," Natsu said, butting in. "We have to figure out a way to lift this curse _and_ keep the moon."

"Alright, alright. But next time Lucy, wear some pants. No one needs to know you wear yellow undies." Yes I had to mention that.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

5 minutes after our little argument, there was a sound. A thumping sound. Like something huge was walking. And the sound got louder and louder and louder. Because whatever it was was getting closer. We all turned around, and saw a giant rat. Immediately, Lucy ordered the boys to get up and fight it. What type of wizard was she? Can she not fight? I decided to take one for the team and stand down. This did not look like a rat who's blood I needed to drain

Immediately, I heard Gray recite an incantation and he was bathed in the light blue light of magic circle. I heard the words "Ice make-" and then it all made sense. I'd never met one, but I'm assuming that ice mages have cold blood. So _that's_ why Gray's blood is cold when I use my magic on him. Anyway, just as Gray was about to attack, the gain rat had let loose a horrendous stench. I covered my nose and mouth, and held my breath. Not, only did I smell it more than everyone else, I wanted to throw up. Rogue had fainted and become limp. Even Luce's celestial spirit, Horologium, had disappeared, leaving her exposed to the polluted air. Our only choice was to retreat.

I felt like I would never get away from this rat. Everywhere we went, it just kept spraying and spraying its disgusting stench. Finally, Gray turned around and turned the ground behind us into ice. The rat slipped, fell, and laid unconscious on the floor. Both Lucy and I had spotted a temple that we could retreat in, but Natsu and Gray thought it would be more fun to beat up the unconscious rat. We went inside the temple anyway. The temple was huge and old, columns and pieces of columns were cracked and littered the floor. Strange, deep red moon signs were almost everywhere on the walls of the temple.

"Well, Galuna island did used to be known as the island of the moon," Gray said, after Lucy had questioned my very thoughts. I've noticed lately, that ever since we got here, everything seems to connect with the moon. Someone on this island knows exactly what they're doing because then I would've never made this seemingly coincidental connection. So why? What would someone, who's obviously been on this island for quite awhile, gain from cursing a group of villagers?

Rogue had hissed, and I saw Natsu stomping on the ground, complaining how the floor was so old, it didn't even look safe enough to walk on. I heard Lucy shout at him, and then, the floor collapsed. I grabbed Rogue as we started to fall. I landed on my side, hopefully not breaking anything, clutching Rogue to my body. Lucy and Gray began to bash Natsu about getting us stuck underneath the temple. All I was concerned about was getting _out_. Natsu on the other hand, seemed more excited to explore this cave than to find a way out of it. I watched as he began to run through a tunnel, forcing us to follow.

When we had caught up to him, Natsu had stopped, looking up at something.

"Hey guys, what's that?" he asked. I looked up just like he was, and I was completely shocked. A massively tall glacier was in the middle of this cave. When I looked closer, I could just make out a huge scaly monster. No not monster. A demon No one seemed be as shocked as Gray. I knew because out of everyone's shocked expression and feeling, his heart had stopped twice. The demon, had large long claws and big sharp teeth. And its eyes..it didn't even look like he had eyes. Just dark emote eye sockets.

"It's Deliora!" Gray exclaimed. He seemed to have known this monster, heard of it or seen it before. And he was freaking out. His heart beat became quick and hesitant because he was so scared, so scared to wonder what Deliora was doing on Galuna island. "There's no…no way. What the hell is it doing here?!" He shouted. I put my hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down.

"Gray," I said, "You have to calm down and tell us what happened."

"It's…Deliora. The demon of destruction. But..what I don't understand is…what he's doing here? It doesn't make any sense."

I wanted to hear more out of him, but instead I heard footsteps and voices approaching us. "Everyone hide!" I whisper-shouted. Rogue was finally rested enough for us to hide behind some rubble and he wrapped his body around mine, concealing me. I peaked over him to see who our company was. A short man with tall spiky blue hair and green robes was accompanied by a tall shirtless manned with short tan hair and…cat ears? They or at least the short man, were talking about something called 'The Moon Drip'. Then a young woman, about my age had approached them. She'd addressed them as Yuka and Toby. Her hair was pink and in two curly ponytails and she was wearing some weird lolita outfit. Her name was Sherry. Ugh, what a stupid name.

Sherry was complaining about how some terrible people had beat up Angelica, though Toby and Yuka didn't seem to give two shits. "No one cares about what happens to your stupid rat", Yuake said. So that horrible rat is a girl? And she's someone's _pet_? _"Such a disappointing world you humans inhabit"_ Rogue murmured. Did this idiot girl just say something about love? What the hell do love and a rat have in common? I kept listening. They said something about collecting moonlight again, and that news of intruders would displease the 'Cold Emperor'. Who's this Cold Emperor? Is he the one behind all this? And now, because we've seen Deliora, we can't be allowed to live.

Not allowed to live? Oh if I wasn't supposed to be helping the villagers or if Natsu, Gray and Lucy weren't here I would've already jumped out and snapped their necks. I would've tottered them, beat the crap out of them until they told me something. I would lie and say they I would spare their lives, and then pull the same bullshit on them. I would let Rogue devour them. _"Now now Mistress,"_ Rogue said, _"Watch your temper. You know what you get like when you're pissed off"_. I calmed down as best I could. But I would let these thoughts multiply, in my sub-conscious.

Someone threw a rock, drawing these freaks's attention. when I got up, it was Happy who'd thrown it. "Come on," Natsu whispered, " We should've grabbed them and beat some answers out of them." See? I'm not the only one who thinks violently. This job just keeps getting more and more complicated. What did Deliora have to do wit this curse? Who's the Cold Emperor and why is he cursing the villagers? What's The Moon Drip? Ezekiel could probably answer the last question. I bet it's a spell. Ezekiel was good was spells.

"I still don't understand what Deliora's doing here," Gray said, after a few moments. "And what I want to know is, how the hell were they even able to find it,"

"Where was it hidden?" Lucy asked.

"It was sealed away," Gray answered, "In a glacier on the northern continent. It was…it was 10 years ago. In Isvon. This immortal demon, he just..ravaged it and countless people lost their lives. And My Master, the woman who taught me my magic, Ur, sacrificed everything to seal it away."

When he said that Ur had taught him his magic, I remembered that not everyone was born like I was. Magic is something within only certain people and that magic pertains to their special abilities. My magic however, runs through my blood. It was already there. I didn't need to do anything to find it. I just had to learn how to use it.

Gray was getting angry. The air around him was freezing cold and swirling with ice. "Gray, please," I said, attempting to calm him down.

"I want to know who the hell this Cold Emperor is. If he and these freaks think they're gonna destroy my Master's legacy, they're gonna regret the day they were fucking born!"

Well as I said before, this just get's more and more complicated. Because this was no longer just a group of wizards answering a request. This was personal.

**So….did you like it? If you did review! If you didn't like it REVIEW!** **Sorry this is so late.I've kinda been slacking and I have lots of homework and then there was finals and everything just got so complicated. But I promise to try and make more time to write this! Review! Oh my god if you like it so much review and I'll update more.**


	7. Permission to kill please

We sat in the dark cold cave, and continued to talk about the glacier-enclosed Deliora. Gray was so torn up. And Natsu, like the insensitive fool he is, goes ahead and suggests destroying the glacier and Deliora. Immediately, Gray hit him. He was so angry, so upset that his friend could even say that. I wanted to hit Natsu a few times too. Couldn't he see that, this was destroying Gray? That it wasn't something to mess around about? His eyes, even though he wasn't looking at me, they'd changed. Instead of the beautiful midnight blue color they usually are that I liked to get lost in, his eyes were the color of the ocean and full of utter terror and anger. It unnerved me.

_"Really? All afternoon until the night?" _ I heard Rogue hiss.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered lowly.

_"It's Gray," _he said. _"He said that we're going to wait down here for the moon to see the Moon Drip, whatever the hell that is"_ All afternoon? I'm not much of a high maintenance gal, but to stay down here…? I was going to have to sit here, with Lucy, Happy, Natsu, and Gray and stare at a giant glacier encasing a demon, until nightfall? I could live with that. It's nice and dark down here, so it's not like I'll be burned to a crisp by the horrible sun. But what exactly could I do? I'm not about to say, "Hey Lucy let's spar!" especially with Gray's dark mood at the time. Rogue could stare at anything to death and never get bored.

I sat down on some of the rubble and Rogue curled up next to me. He leaned his head in my lap and I stroked it, trying to drift away into some world in my mind. If I were scared or nervous, I would rub my Anarchy mark. But I haven't been scared and I'm rarely ever nervous. The mark was a constant reminder that I wasn't like everyone else. That I could cause lots more trouble than I did. That I could...

_"Mistress,"_ Rogue said, _"Don't think about that. That was seven years ago. It can never happen again unless you really felt you needed to…become that again. Your father only wanted to see what you could do in that form. He never wanted you to use it for pure destruction. You are above that."_ Since I don't cry much anymore, all I could do was kiss the top of Rogue's head. I'm so lucky to have him. I don't know what or who I'd become if Rogue wasn't always by my side.

Everyone was else was pretty much separated into their own corners. Well, mostly everyone. Natsu was sprawled out on the ground snoring away, while Lucy and Happy watched him in a bored daze. Gray…Gray sat at the edge of the floor, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. He was thinking about something, something that made him both sad and angry. I decided it would be best to not bother him, since, this was something neither of us could understand.

"I know I said I'd wait but this is boring," Lucy sighed. I was just about to have Rogue wrap around me and go to sleep when I heard Lucy open another one of her Gates. Oh God what is it this time? Suddenly a girl wearing blue dress and bonnet with wings on her back appeared. Her hair was a light orange color and she seemed kind of cheery. Great another spirit. She began speaking to Lucy, as though they were best friends that hadn't seen each other in forever. Her name was Lyra.

"What would you like me to sing for you today? Any requests?" Lyra asked.

"Nope, just sing whatever you want" Lucy said. "Lyra has a very beautiful singing voice" she said. Singing?I hate singing or rather to sing. I'm more of a person of action not words, though I have very eloquent speaking skills. Singing is an outlet for creativity and strong emotions. I know how to be creative and have very strong emotions, I just haven't found the right outlet or as Rogue says the _appropriate _ outlet for my emotion.

Lyra began to strum her harp, so I stopped to listen. She began singing and….and it was kind of sad. But it was beautiful. Her music made me relax and drift off into another one of my memories…

*FLASHBACK*

_It was pouring buckets and buckets of rain. But I didn't care. There were great sounds of thunder and blinding flashes of lighting. But I didn't care. The wind was blowing incredibly hard and tree limbs were falling. But I didn't care. All I cared about was finding my brother._

_I'd woken up that morning, and he had just vanished. Ezekiel was the only thing on my mind from that point on. I went around the town and asked around. I even went to guild where he liked to hang out with his friends. I forgot what it was called, but at the moment it didn't matter. I just wanted to find him. After a few exhausting hours of relentless searching I went back home. At one point I thought he had gone out to clear his head. We did have that fight last night. I waited for him to come back. And waited. And waited. And waited._

_Finally I got sick of waiting and I went outside to look for him in the forest near our house. I'd notice the whole forest pattern that my parents seemed to like when it came to a home. But that was so irrelevant at the time. And there was a thunderstorm going on. I put on my hooded jacket and decided to suck it up. I had no problem getting soaked if it meant finding my brother. The sky was gray and it got darker every few minutes. I went through the forest, calling for Ezekiel. I kept calling and calling, even though there was never an answer._

_Then I thought about it. He could be at Aaron's. Sometimes he did that, he would hang out with Aaron and stay overnight. It didn't bother me because usually he would tell me or at least send a note. A note…was there a note somewhere? I didn't even know because I was so scared so confused. I decided to just go to Aaron's and see, no, hope he was there. Aaron lived at the edge of the forest nearest to the bridge over the river. So I had to go west._

_I trudged through the pouring rain thinking about what could've caused my big brother to leave me all alone. Everything I came up seemed to be an irrational answer. So when I thought about it…maybe he just got tired of taking care of me. Our whole life was almost always about taking care of each other. Ever since Dad died maybe…maybe Ezekiel didn't want to be burdened by me anymore. I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I was all alone. Even though I had Rogue I…my family was gone. It was just me. All alone._

_I was at Aaron's door, with tear stained cheeks and soaking wet clothes. When he answered the door I kept my head down low. Not only was I a mess, I was a mess before my crush of two years. That wasn't important, I shouldn't be thinking like that. _

_"Can I help you?" he asked._

_"Uh um…" why was I so nervous? This wasn't the time to be nervous. "Aaron have you…have you seen Ezekiel?" I asked._

_"Ezekiel? What about- Raphael is that you?" he asked. I nodded, keeping my head down to make sure he couldn't see my face._

_"I'm sorry but he's not here. Haven't seen him since yesterday," he said. My heart broke. This was my last chance. My only hope. Without Ezekiel….I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I didn't care if Aaron was right in front of me. I started to sob. I couldn't stop myself. Since I rarely ever cry, I do a lot of it once I get going._

_"Hey, hey don't cry now," Aaron said, pulling me into his arms. "It's gonna be alright."_

_"No it won't! He was all I had left. I can't live by myself I'm only 17!" I cried. Aaron was silent. For a moment we both just stood there in the doorway._

_"Well we'll figure something out," he said. "Come inside so you can get warm and dry off." I walked in through the door, leaving my shame and humiliation behind. There was nothing to hide now. I was an open book._

_I left my muddy boots by the door and took off my socks which were incredibly wet. I shed all of my outer wear and wrapped myself in a large towel. Aaron had suggested a thick blanket, but I didn't want to ruin it. We sat on his couch and discussed Ezekiel, what could've happened, where he could've gone. Why he left me. But then we began talking about everything that had led up to this dreadful day. Not all of it was negative. Mostly it was about the time we'd spent together with Ezekiel. He and Aaron would go drinking and get into trouble with girls. Ezekiel and I however, would spend time together as a family and basically get into a little trouble ourselves. _

_Before I knew it, I had realized how close we'd gotten physically. We were…cuddling. I was leaning on his shoulder and his arms had gently circled me. For a moment I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. When I got myself together, I realized he'd said something._

_"I'm sorry what was that? I zoned out for a bit," I said._

_He chuckled then said, "I know you've always had this big crush on me"_

_I froze then blushed. "H-How did you know?" I stuttered._

_"Ezekiel's not very good with keeping secrets under the influence of alcohol," he explained. I felt his arms move more around me._

_"So what about it?" I asked. Was it weird for us to be this close now that he knew?_

_"I just wanted to tell you…that I like you too."_

_At the moment, I swear I my heart had stopped for at least 30 seconds._

*END FLASHBACK*

I smiled as my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crying. Wait, crying? Who's crying?

"Did Lyra's song make you cry?" Happy asked.

Gray sniffed then said, "No I'm fine"

_"Sounds like someone I know, doesn't it Mistress?" _Rogue hissed. He looked up at me, smiling with his eyes.

"Shut up," I mumbled. Just because I'm not very emotional doesn't mean I'm not human.

When Lucy and Happy wanted to hear another one of Lyra's songs, Gray had put an immediate stop to it, saying that we need to stay quiet if we didn't want to get caught. I was trying to fall asleep anyway and that singing would just bring more memories of…him.

I wrapped Rogue around my body and went to sleep. I hoped that whatever this was would be stopped and quickly.

XxXxXxXxXxX

I was rudely awoken by a loud rumbling sound, and at one point I thought it was Rogue's stomach. But when I got up, the rumbling had still continued and then everyone was up. Suddenly a weird purple beam of light was shining down, straight onto the Deliora glacier. It was coming from the moon.

"We have to find out where the light's coming from," Gray said urgently. "Let's Go!" So we all ran from out of the cave up some makeshift stairs until we came to an exit. We were in the temple again. There was a magic circle on the floor but it still wasn't the directed source of moonlight. There was another beam of light shining down on it, meaning that the source was coming from outside. We ran up the steps to the top of the roof, and hid behind a partially destroyed wall.

There were a group of people, probably about 20, and they were all wearing cloaks and masks with the sign of the moon on them. They were chanting some unknown language and as they chanted, the light from the moon was collected into the magic circles, causing the light to shine on Deliora down below in the cave.

When Lucy wanted to know what exactly the moonlight would be doing to Deliora, her spirit friend said, "It's a Belianese spell called The Moon Drip."

After a moment Lyra said, "So that's what they're trying to do," and since obviously none of us knew what she meant, she continued.

"They're using The Moon Drip spell to melt the ice surrounding Deliora so that they can resurrect it," What? Who in their right mind would want such a thing?

"They can't!" Gray exclaimed. "The ice used in an Ice Shell can't be melted."

"I hate to break it to you, but that's not entirely true. While the Ice Shell is strong it can be melted using Moon Drip. Focused moon energy can break any magical spell."

After hearing this, Gray had gotten even more angry, so angry he looked like he would punch the wall. "They've never witnessed the wrath of Deliora!" he growled.

"What the villagers may believe is a curse against them, may actually be side effects of The Moon Drip," Lyra explained. "Concentrated moon energy can contaminate your body."

Just before Natsu was about to jump over to make some grand entrance, Lucy stopped him saying, "Someone's coming." As she said this, I heard the faint sound of footsteps get closer and closer. Then a man wearing a white flowing cloak and a horned gothic helmet appeared with Toby and Yuka in tow. Even little miss Sherry appeared. Based on the conversation, they were talking about some intruders. Us. When they addressed this walking freak, they called him "Cold Emperor". So that's who he is. If he's such a strong "emperor", then he should take off his mask and show us his, the punk.

They began to discuss other things besides failing to find us intruders. Like when Deliora will be released. Sherry had said it'd either be tonight or tomorrow night. Which meant we were on a dead line. But the Cold Emperor didn't stop there. He wanted us intruders dead, and had assumed that it was the villagers since they were the only other people on the island. Meaning they didn't know they had I heard the words, "Destroy the village". What? The villagers had nothing to do with this! They don't even know about the temple.

I knew we had to stay quiet and watch, and because of this I didn't jump up and blow our cover. I said _I _didn't. Natsu on the other hand was so upset that they were going to hurt the villagers, that he jumped up and roared fire, saying,"We're the intruders you're looking for!" No point in hiding now. _"I'm going to strangle that idiot"_ Rogue hissed, as he slithered from behind the wall to in front of it, to protect me. Once they saw Natsu's arm, they realized we were from Fairy Tail. Even so, the Cold Emperor still wanted the village destroyed. He didn't care if they were deliberately in his way or not. No one was going to stop him from his task.

This made Gray and Natsu angry, so they both charged head on towards the Cold Emperor. Suddenly a wall of thick ice was created from Gray's hand, bursting from the ground. The Cold Emperor jumped up and the wall missed him, and when he came back down, he created his own ice wall, practically identical to Gray's. Both wall's collided, stopping one another from going any further. And then they shattered, sending millions of shards of ice everywhere. Of course I knew the Cold Emperor was an ice mage. Unless the name 'Cold Emperor' meant he was cold and heartless, being an Ice Mage was the only other explanation.

"Lyon," Gray growled, as the ice shards fell. He knows this guy?

"How could you!" Gray shouted. "Do you even know what you're doing?" He asked Lyon.

Lyon was calm. He didn't seem to be phased by Gray's apparent anger. "It's been a long time hasn't it?" he asked.

Gray didn't answer, instead he said, "Why would you revive Deliora?" Isn't that the question we've all been asking? Just who in their right mind would revive a monster?

"Did you come here to find me?" Lyon asked. "Or this just pure coincidence?" One of his minions made some comment, so he ordered them to go and destroy the village. They darted off into the night. I wanted to go after them, no, get there _before _ them and warn the villagers. As I was about to head off, I heard Gray shout, "Natsu don't!" But it was too late. His body or rather his mid-section, was incased in ice. "_He looks like a walking ice cube_" Rogue laughed. I was thinking the same thing, but this was obviously not a time to make jokes.

"Raphael!" Gray shouted at me. "You and Lucy need to get out of here _now_!" I was about to protest when Rogue grabbed me with his tail saying, _"That's enough for me. Mistress let's go"_ Happy took Lucy by her shirt, and carried her as they flew off into the night. Rogue slithered on his belly towards the village, my body a few feet off the ground wrapped in the security of his. We fun ourselves at the tall wooden gate of the village. Rogue had finally put me down, and we ran in just in time to hear Lucy telling the demon villagers about what was going to happen. However, the chief was not satisfied within. He still wanted to have the moon destroyed. Soon, Chief Moka became hysterical, and his fellow villagers had to restrain him.

"So Lucy what's the plan?" I asked her, since she was so excited and so confined that it'd work.

"This," she said and opened another one of her celestial gates. I think it was Virgo, a pink haired cute little maid with broken shackles on her wrists.

That idiot Celestial Mage had Virgo dig a pitfall trap. The oldest fucking trick in the book. Even Virgo and Happy thought it was stupid.

"This is what you were confident about?" I asked. "A hole?"

"You can clearly tell what it is by lookin' at it," Happy said.

"It doesn't matter," Lucy said, even though in her mind she knew we were right. "There's only one way to get in and the enemy _has_ to go over my trap.

Eventually, almost everyone agreed Lucy's plan wouldn't work and was pretty stupid. I wasn't really listening to her response because, one of the villagers had announced that someone was headed toward the gate. Rogue and I readied ourselves and I took my fighting stance, preparing for a hard blow. Lucy had the villagers open the gate and we waited. Again, another failure. It was just Natsu, who may I remind you, was partially incased in ice, carrying a knocked out Gray. He was running so fast, and straight for Lucy's pitfall trap too. We got him to stop just before he fell, but like the idiot he is, he deliberately walked onto the trap falling in, bringing Gray down with him.

"Hey you okay?" I called to Naatsu as I looked down into the hole. It was actually pretty deep.

"Yeah I'm fine but Gray's out for the count," he answered as he realized that his fall had freed him from his ice incasing. The villagers had helped us as we pulled Natsu and Gray from the hole. Gray was looking pretty bad. His face was covered in enough injuries alone, so I'd hate to see what his body more damaging injuries, most likely on his body, looked like.

"Hey hold on," Natsu said. "How come Lyon's lackeys haven't made it here yet?" That was a good question. They'd left before Natsu and yet he arrived first. Plus, he was carrying Gray _and_ partially incased in ice. So why haven't they arrived yet?

"Ok then we'll just have to try again so cover the hole!" Lucy ordered. She wasn't serious was she? Even Natsu knew they weren't going to fall for it. Suddenly I heard a buzzing in the air. I looked up and saw nothing, but as the buzzing got louder and louder, I saw something in the air. It was that damn rat, Angelica. It or rather _she_ was carrying a large bucket of something. Angelica tilted the bucket a bit, and a ball sized drop of green jelly started to fall in the direction of Lucy. It smelled familiar. I looked at Rogue as ha said _"Poison" _I tried to move fast, but I wasn't fast enough. Natsu had grabbed Lucy out of the way just as the poison jelly fell and disintegrate the ground it hit.

"That smell," Natsu hissed. "I knew the stuff was deadly" The villagers started freaking out, saying that Angelica was going to dump it all over the village destroying it and us with it. I could hear them talking. Yuka and Sherry saying how disgusting the villagers looked. It was their fault in the first place! Reviving a demon and inadvertently turning villagers into demons at night. They should be the ones to die from acid jelly. Then Angelica swung the bucket, and the acid jelly began to fall, descending onto the village. Natsu seemed ready since he ordered all of us to run to the center of the village. Lucy, Rogue and I, along with Gray who was being carried by a few villagers, all ran to the center of the village.

Natsu jumped high into the sky, and Happy caught him, flying him straight towards the jelly. Just what was he doing? I watched as Natsu threw a giant fire ball towards the jelly. There was a small spark, and Natsu's fire made the jelly explode, dispersing it around us. The jelly rained down on the village, steam rising from where it had been destroyed. All that was left of it was the center of the village we all had been standing. All chief Moka cared about was the fact that Bobo's grave was still standing. This little moment lasted seconds as Yuka, Sherry, and Toby approached us, one them kicking down the grave stone.

"The Cold Emperor ordered us to eradicate the village and its people," Sherry said. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless. But since that didn't work we'll have to resort to bloodshed" That was it. That was the last time Sherry made death threats at us. At _me._

"You want bloodshed?" I called, jumping down from the center. "I'll give you bloodshed." This was directed at Sherry, since she was so bold to talk about death and love in the same sentence.

"Oh? what have we here?" she said. She smirked, acting like what I said wasn't even remotely scary.

"50 villagers, 3 wizards, shouldn't take much time should it?" Yuka said.

"Yeah right and shouldn't take too much time for me to rearrange your internal organs," I growled. "This is your one and only warning. Get the fuck out of here before I start spilling your blood."

_"Mistress look!"_ I heard Rogue hiss. I turned around and was shocked to see Gray standing. He wasn't going to fight was he? He's too weak, too damaged to do anything but get himself killed. Then I heard the dull sound of a hit as Natsu socked Gray in the stomach, knocking him out. Tough love, oh well.

"We're not leaving," I heard Sherry say, "until every person in this village is dead." That was all the encouragement and permission I needed to kill them.

**Nice cliffhanger right? I'm working on the next chapter as I write this. I was going to write more, but then it would've gotten a bit long. Oh and I'll finish that flashback bit too in the next chapter. Pay attention to the flashbacks. They connect the pieces to the puzzle that is Rapahael Aisuru. Eventually, I'll be getting off the plot of Fairy Tail and gradually move on into my own plot. Don't worry it's not a predictable ending either. Anyway, review review REVIEW! It encourages me to keep going. And yeah I know this is rated M and all there is is swearing and that one light sex scene, but don't worry. A few more chapters and we'll be getting down and dirty.**


	8. Defiance

Either Sherry was actually scared of me, or she really enjoyed a game of tag. She used Angelica as an escape route into the forest. Lucy being the idiot that she is, grabbed onto Angelica's foot. I don't know what she did but she made the huge rat crash into the forest. That was my target. Natsu was already taking care of Yuka and Toby, head butting Toby so he can fight with Yuka, so Rogue and I slithered off into the forest.

Running in the forest with no one around reminded me of the training exercises I use to do with Rogue and my dad. The way I moved through the forest was different than most people. I used the wind to hear because the sound of the crash carries through the air. I was headed north. It was dark, and my magic was more powerful during the dark. Even though I was born with my magic and not taught it, it was still able to become more powerful due to certain factors. For instance the night. Rogue has told me that snakes hunt at all the times of the day, but like most predators, night was the best time to hunt. Your senses were heightened, your sight was even better all because you had one goal. To eat. To gain. Usually when I'm on a hunt like this my goal is to kill.

*FLASHBACK*

_"Raphael, are you ready?" dad asked. It was night time and we were in front of the woods. I was getting ready for another one of Rogue's Animal Instinct training sessions. He was next to me, bigger than from the last time we had met. Ezekiel stood in front of the house, watching us as usual. _

_"Yes Daddy, I'm ready" I answered. This shouldn't have been too difficult. I liked these kinds of training sessions because, I was completely in tune with my magic and with Rogue._

_"So, you have to get through this forest and find a sack of jewels hidden within it. Both Ezekiel and I know where it is, since we put it in its location earlier today. You must find it and be back here by dawn. Rogue will guide you through, but you will mostly do this on your own understood?" Dad said. He always explained training exercises to Ezekiel and I. But because this was one of Rogue's training sessions, Dad had no idea what it was I would be learning or doing._

_"Yes Dad I understand. Go back inside. I'll be fine," I told him. Even though eh believed in me, he was still my father and he always worried when I did things like this without him being there._

_"Ok princess," he said. He walked towards Ezekiel, standing next to him saying, "Have fun!" I waved as I walked into the woods, Rogue slithering behind me._

_"Tonight Mistress, you are going to learn two things. First, how to use your magic to see in complete darkness and how to hear even the slightest of movements,"__ Rogue hissed._

_"Two things?" I asked. "But I thought I was supposed to learn these types of things one at a time? You know to grasp the depth and importance of them."_

_"It really doesn't matter with these two,__ he said. __"With hearing, I'l be able to teach you later on how to hear heartbeats and the sound of blood pumping through veins. Sight is the easiest to learn. Gradually, you'll learn to use your eyes with a more harder task, the hardest task of all snakes. But for now, we'll start with the easy things." _

_We continued trough the forest and it got darker and darker. My eyes had adjusted so many times that I was beginning to get dizzy. Rogue had said that if this happened, that I had to concentrate and listen. Sight and sound were connected he said. Using one as a substitute for the other, was the goal in this task. So I had to listen. I stopped walking and planted my feet firmly into the ground. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply for a few mites, feeling the energy around me. I was trying to use my sense of hearing as best as possible. And I heard it. All of it._

_I heard the sounds of the smallest of animals and insects walking and moving in the woods around me. I heard the small labored breathing of the birds who slept in their nests at this time. And from about 16 yards away, I heard some small animal step on and crack a twig. It was all so insightful. And overwhelming. Soon I had to open my eyes, and when I did, everything was clearer. No more darkness and no more dizziness. I could move in complete darkness and know where I was going. _

_"Very good Mistress, very good,"__ Rogue said. __"Do you understand now what it means to use your senses as a substitute for one another?"__ he asked._

_"Yes it actually came very easy to me. I just had to stop and listen. But Rogue, what about when I can only listen for a specific thing? All the sounds crowd my mind and it's overwhelming," I told him. It was true. Dad had told me that stealth required full focus. I needed to learn how to listen for and focus on one specific sound at a time._

_"That's normal Mistress normal,"__ he said __"All you have to do is think about what you're listening for and you'll hear it. I know that doesn't seem helpful at all but just try it."_

_I closed my eyes and thought about….a rabbit. I thought about it running around in the dark, trying to find its rabbit hole and escape from predators like Rogue who were trying to eat it. The more I visualized the more I could hear it. I heard the rabbit's feet thumping against the ground, its heart beating as it ran. When I opened my eyes again, I nodded at Rogue, signaling to him that we could continue on our task._

_I was never afraid of the dark. In fact I was more intrigued by its mystery than afraid of it. The night called to me as I walked through the forest. The wind blew, and I heard the jingle of jewels from far away. We were close. I didn't know what time it was, didn't know how far from my house I was. But I didn't care. It felt..strange being in the dark. A good strange. I felt comfortable in complete darkness, concealed from my enemies who were as blind as bats._

_"Once you lose your sight, your hearing becomes impeccable,"__ Rogue said as we walked. __"But that is only for regular humans and wizards. Their hearing can be become manipulated if they become anxious or scared. They hear things that aren't there. Their mind creates an imaginary danger when they are in the dark. But you Mistress, you are special. Your eyes, like mine, can see in total darkness as though it were the light of day. Your hearing is impeccable too, not because you've lost your sight, but because you've learn to switch off and substitute hearing for sight. Using both at the same time, you will become an excellent and dangerous wizard."_

_Yes. That was my goal. To protect myself, to do whatever it takes to survive and protect the ones I love. Power and danger are alike. Once you became powerful, you also become dangerous. Danger can be used to have power over others. For instance Morphomagus Blood ability to drain a person of their blood is very powerful. It can be, but most of the time it's not, quick and painless. Dad said never to waste my magic in petty fights or to gain things I want. I am to use it when I'm in danger, and never, or at least, try not to let my emotions get in the way. If I'm blinded my emotion, then things can become very messy._

_The sun was slowly rising as I made my way towards the house. The sack of jewels bounced against my leg as we walked. It wasn't hard to find. Though I will admit, climbing a tree in complete darkness was a bit complicated. That must've been Ezekiel's idea. He was always thinking of ways to push me harder, since he knew how important it was for me to learn my birthright. I walked up the steps and opened the door, to find Ezekiel grinning on the couch. He waited for me?_

_"I knew you could do it," he said. He came over and wrapped me up in a hug._

_"Wouldn't have taken so long if you hadn't put it on an arrow and shot it to the tallest pot in some tree," I joked._

_"Hey I could've buried it," he joked back. "Then you would've had to learn about your animal sense of smell." He looked at me and then kissed my forehead. "Well as long you survived I don't care."_

*END FLASHBACK*

I sat back and watched behind some bushes as Lucy somehow managed to defeat Sherry and her despicable marionette magic. Ugh, disgusting. Disgusting to know how similar and yet incredibly different our magic was. To force someone, to control them, is the ultimate goal in Sherry's magic. I may be able to do the same thing except for one difference: Sherry's magic creeps into your mind and takes over while my magic just goes straight for your body. If you're being controlled by me, it is a painful difficult process. Struggling only makes it worse and I get bored playing with my kill.

_"Mistress let's end this now shall we?"_ Rogue asked as Sherry raised her arms creating a doll out of rock, irritated that Lucy summoned a weak spirit, making her spell totally useless. I raised my arms a bit and thrust them towards Sherry's back. I flexed my fingers and slowly curled each hand into a fist. As I did this, Sherry's body started to collapse, and I watched as she withered in agony, her arms pinned behind her back. I wasn't going to kill her. Oh no, I was going to make her _suffer_. Using more force, the slower I use my magic, the more painful it is.

I walked towards Lucy and Sherry, stepping towards her. She looked up at me, terror in her eyes. She had absolutely no idea what invisible force was pinning her by and slowly crushing her arms.

"Wh-what are you..d-doing to me?" she asked in a strained voice.

"Oh nothing," I said calmly, "Just slowly pulling and tightening your veins so that you're completely paralyzed. Nothing personal."

"Make it stop!" she cried.

"No," I said darkly. I took a step closer to her. "You wanted bloodshed and so you're getting it. Leave us the hell alone, before I pop your veins one by one. And that'll be some blood for you to shed."

She shuddered and convulsed then said, "A-alright! I'll leave you alone! Just stop it!" I uncurled my fingers and dropped my arms.

"But only because I want to live to love my Cold Emperor-" she spewed before I kicked her in the stomach. I dusted off my pants and turned to Lucy, who was cowering in a corner.

"S-so that's your magic?" she asked.

"Yup. But that wasn't even enough power to actually drain me," I told her. "Why, are you scared or something?"

"No," she said, walking up to me. "It's just…it looks scary."

"You basically just said you're scared you idiot," I murmured. "Anyway, wanna head back and check on Natsu and gray or what? I'm tired from chasing people around all day."

"Yeah I'm beat too," Lucy said, walking with me. "Hey, do you really think it was necessary to kick her? She was already down."

"It was a 100% necessary. She's been pissing me off before we'd even met. And she spewing all that love crap. It was getting annoying," I said, irritated at the thought.

"Wow," she said, awed. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

"Will do," I replied as we walked in the dark towards the village.

XxXxXxXx

I woke up later than usual in one of the tents in the village storage area. Because the original village was destroyed, they had moved here for shelter. I honestly did not want to share a tent with anyone because I was just in that kind of mood. Natsu wasn't here with us. He'd gone off somewhere though, the last time I saw him he was fighting Yuka and Toby on his own. Maybe he didn't know we were here so he went to sleep in the forest. I'm sure he'll be fine. Natsu seems like he can handle being by himself all on his own.

When I left my tent, even though I was a bit groggy, I asked the villagers where Lucy and Happy were. They told me that they'd gone into the big tent in the back of the storage area. As I was walking towards it, I heard shouting.

"How can you be so heartless!" I heard a voice say. It was Gray. He was up already? We went to check on him yesterday, but he was so worn out that he couldn't wake up. I tried to listen for a response but all I heard was the unsheathing of a sword. I peaked through the slit of the tent. Lucy and Happy were tied up and…some redhead in upper body armor and a suit had her sword pointed at Gray's neck. His _neck_. I didn't think to register what happened next. It was impulse. Pure instinct. I dodged into the tent, grabbed the redhead by her arm pinning it against her back, kicking her sword out of her hand, and had her in a choke hold by my right arm, holding the dagger I had in my boot pointed at her neck. Her sword skid across the floor, next to Gray.

"Ok ginger here's what's going to happen," I said loud and clear in her ear. "You have ten seconds to tell me who you are and what the hell you're doing here or else I slit your throat and let Rogue feast upon your dead body."

"Raphael stand down," Gray said. What? But this girl was trying to- and then I noticed the Fairy Tail marked upon her breastplate. She was one of us. I took my dagger away from her throat, snaking my arm back down to my side.

"This is Erza Scarlet," he said. "Our friend."

"Friend?" I cried. "What kind of friend tracks down her fellow guild members so she can _kill_ them?" I asked.

"It was because you all broke the rules!" Erza yelled. "None of you are qualified to take on an S-Class request and you all deliberately disobeyed Master Makarov. For that, you deserve the most severe of punishment."

Oh this girl. "It doesn't matter!" I yelled. "What we're doing is more important than a few stupid rules. Instead of punishing us, you should be trying to _at least_ help us. All you're doing is getting in the way."

There was a silence. The air…it was full of shock. What, no one ever spoke like that to her before? Is she so high and mighty that no one's thought to put her in her place?

"Raphael, Erza," Gray said. "You both need to stop. Right now we have bigger issues than your morality differences." He started to walk away. "I'm fulfilling this task," he said. "And I won't let you get in my way." He looked back, giving Erza a dead eyed look, telling her he was serious. She was shaking. No one had ever defied her I guess. She turned to look at me, trying to give me some kind of mean serious look. But I was already waiting for her. I cut my eyes at her, looking her dead in the eye saying coldly, "I don't take orders from anyone except my elders, and _especially_ not from people like _you_. Get used to it." And I walked away.

Rogue was busy lecturing me while I used him in scythe form and swiped at random immobile things. _"Why didn't you bring me with you? You might have handled the situation more calmly if I was there,"_ he hissed at me. I honestly don't know why he's angry. I reacted the way anyone would if thy saw a girl they _didn't_ know pointing a _sword_ at her friend's neck. Which is exactly what I told Rogue but _no_, Erza's the one who gets the fucking sympathy, not me.

_"And telling people you'll have me feast upon their dead bodies? Mistress that's ridiculous,"_ he said. I used him to slice open a tree. It collapsed a few seconds later. "Will you just shut the fuck up?" I growled.

"Just because she's the f-ing good guy and I'm not _does not_ mean you take her side. You serve me and me alone," I hissed. He was silent for awhile before saying, _"Yes Mistress. I'm sorry for speaking out of turn."_ I usually didn't have to remind Rogue about him serving for the rest of his days until one of us dies. But right now, he was taking another person's side over my own and _that_, his disloyalty, is what made me mention it.

"Right now, Gray's mad at the both of us, even though it was _her_ fault. Even I wouldn't point you or the dagger at my friends. Her morality is going to be an issue," I said, hacking up some random bushes. _"It's only an issue because you have no morality," _Rogue said. I laughed bit. It was true. I don't have much morality to speak of. There are certain things in this world you just can't take back, and because of that, I am pretty immoral. But if I was like that, then I wouldn't be able to deal with myself, or Rogue. It'd destroy me.

_"Mistress be careful with that dagger," _ Rogue wanted. _"You know it's not to be taken so lightly,"_ He was talking about the dagger in my boot, the one I'd threatened Erza with.

"Yeah I know, I know," I murmured, brushing him off. I had returned him to his original form and sat down. I was wondering just how I could go on with this, knowing that I'd have to work alongside Erza because she's a _friend_. I know Gray's angry with us both and all, but I can't help feel that he's more angrier at me for what I did. It's because they barely know me. I did just get here. It's only logical to take your friend's side of a complete stranger's. Especially when that complete stranger threatens your friend with a dagger at her neck.

_"You shouldn't have to worry about Gray or Erza on this mission,"_ Rogue said. _"If you are forced to work with her fine. But that doesn't mean you need to become friends. Fairy Tail's a friendly guild and all, but that doesn't mean they all like each the. There is some resent or grudge that one of them holds against the other."_

"You're right," I told him. "When we get back, I don't have to be besties with her or anything. This is work and that's my personal life. _She is_ definitely not included in that." Suddenly I heard the flapping of wings, and Happy appeared. "Quick!" he exclaimed. "Something's happened in the forest and it's coming from the temple!" I jumped up, leaving my wallowing behavior behind. "Got it," I said. "Lead the way."

As I had predicted, Erza was with us, running alongside Lucy towards the temple. Gray was with us too, though he was still injured and in bandages. I found his persistence somewhat admirable and worrying. As we were running, he told us how Lyon was always obsessed with surpassing their master Ur. Was I like that? When I think about it, I always wanted to be strong like my dad, maybe even stronger..? But, I wanted to be stronger to protect myself not resurrecting a demon so I can kill it again and surpass my dad.

As we came closer to the temple, Gray told us the story of how he came to know Lyon. Deliora destroyed his home town in less than a day, killing his parents. As the only survivor of the town,Ur and Lyon had found him. He'd swear he'd become powerful enough to make Deliora pay. So Ur took Gray as her second student, an taught both him and Lyon Maker Magic. They trained and lived with her. In a way, it sound like Ur was more of a mom than a teacher to Gray.

When we got to the temple it looked a bit…tilted. What the hell is going on here?

"Natsu," Gray said. "It's typical of him to have destroyed have of the temple. But if he did it on purpose then that's great since the moon can't shine on Deliora now."

"He's the only one who could've done it," Erza chimed in. There was no time for conversation. Someone was hiding in the bushes. And they were not friendly. I heard the sharp whip of the wind, and sickles were thrown at us. Lucy and Happy were thrown out of the way, as I jumped to avoid being hit. My reaction time had been perfect, and Gray and Erza seemed to be pretty good at it too. But they weren't as good as I was. From the bushes, and all around us were the people who were performing the moon drip ceremony we'd seen earlier. They wore hoods that covered their faces and purple cloaks. They'd tracked us down so that we wouldn't interfere with their little ceremony. Psychos.

"I can take care of them," Erza said as a magic circle appeared at her hand and she pulled out a sword. Showoff. Well, I'd said I'd work with her, and I'm only doing it for Gray.

"Oh don't you even try it," I murmured, low enough so that only she could hear it. "I might as well put my magic to some use. And besides, Rogue needs a work out. So we'll help too," I said smiling in a sweet yet despicable way. Gray looked at me, asking me if this is really what I wanted.

"Go on," I told him. "This is your fight and you seem so determined to destroy Lyon all on your own. Go."

And with that, Gray continued on to the temple, as Erza and I, and I guess Happy and lucy too (though they were entirely useless) prepared to take on this cult of freaks.

When Gray left, I think I saw him smile a bit.

XxXxXxXxXx

*FLASHBACK*

_"I just wanted to tell you…that I like you too," Aaron said. What? Did I hear that right? He..he likes me? My heart was pumping so loud that, I didn't think that it took sensitive hearing for Aaron to hear it._

_"Y-you can't like me!" I stuttered. "You're 20 years old, you can be dating anyone else that you want."_

_"I can like whomever I please," he whispered in my ear. It made me shiver. "And I choose to like you."_

_"Why now?" I asked. "You never seemed to notice the absolute obviousness of my crush." It was true. Whenever I was even partially alone with Aaron I acted weird. One time we all went to this party on the beach and Aaron brought me to the other side of the beach. He wanted to show me the stars. During that time, I was prepared to confess to him and it was the __**only**__ time that I thought he liked me back too. But I never confessed to him because, right after that he told me that he thought I needed some air from all the guy stuff, and that this star gazing thing was what girls he dated were into. _

_"I chose now because…well it seems a bit stupid, but have you ever notice that when things get really emotional, we always need to tell the truth about something? Well that's why. Before Ezekiel told me, I just thought you were smoking hot. Well, I liked you too then, but only as my best friend's kid sister. And then when he told me you liked me…I realized that I had feelings for you too all this time."_

_"But…I've never dated before. You could be chasing after someone with so much more experience," I said, looking down._

_He sighed then said, "But I don't want anyone but you. No one else is like you. You can hang with guys and not feel awkward and unlike most girls, or at least, non-magical ones, you can fight."_

_"I'm 17. You're 20. Just what the hell do we have in common?"_

_"We've both lost someone today. You lost your brother and I lost my best friend. We were just connecting over that," he said. "And I don't care if you're 17. Your age doesn't define your maturity."_

_I was silent. I always daydreamed about Aaron and I being a couple. But I never…I never thought it would actually happen._

_I turned my head to say something, but that's when his lips were on mine. They were soft and warm, and I couldn't get enough of the feeling of them on me. It wasn't my first kiss, no. I experimented with a boy that lived somewhere else, with my first kiss. It did not feel like this, this warm feeling that travelled all over my body. Soon, our lips were moving together, orchestrated by Aaron. He had to have leaned over to kiss me, otherwise I'd have to have done it. Slowly and gently, he pried my mouth open with his lips, and his mouth tasted every inch of mine. My tongue dance with his, and soon, Aaron was on top of me._

_When I had actually felt myself pinned under his body, I flinched. That's when he stopped. At first his eyes were full of love, the pure love that he had felt for me. But then they were full of terror, terror of what he'd just done to me._

_"I-I'm sorry," he muttered. He got from on top of me and moved away to the other side of the couch._

_"It's ok," I told him. It really was. I wanted…I wanted more of him. And I guess that was all he needed to hear because, Aaron was on top of me, devouring my lips once again._

_His lips were on my neck and his hand slowly made its way into my shirt. I felt something hard against my thigh and when I moved a bit against, Aaron groaned. So that's what it is. We continued kissing, and Aaron continued to assault my neck. I knew exactly what he wanted, and I guess I wanted it too. To feel so close to someone and love them like this…it was the perfect time to do…that. When Aaron started to lift up my shirt, I murmured against his lips, "Not here." _

_He picked me up bridal stye and we continued to kiss as we descended up the stairs to his bedroom._

*END FLASHBACK*

"So are you just gonna sit there or are you going to fight?" I asked Erza. She took the first move after that, swinging her battle ax in the direction of Lyon's followers. They fell back, dropping their weapons. Pfft, whatever. I took my stance and held Rogue stiffly between my two hands as we were bathed in a red light of my magic circle. As the circle appeared, I repeated the words,

_Vipera Falce_

Rogue instantly shifted into his scythe form again. Sure, I could've just willed him to do it on his own, but if Erza gets to show off, I should be able to too ,right? I noticed that Rogue's scales were looking a bit dull. I knew he needed more blood. The Vulcan blood had been enough, but as I had said before, only for a while. Even if I just slash at them a bit, Rogue will be able to simultaneously steal their blood from the inside. All they would feel is low energy and possibly. But they wouldn't die.

I charged on towards the enemy, swinging Rogue left and right, slashing into anyone and anything that was in my way. Once the blade on my Rogue-scythe touched one of them, they instantly fell onto themselves, exhausted as though they had fought a great battle. But all Rogue did was have a little snack.

_"Thank you Mistress for the small meal," _he said to me as we continued to knock down Lyon's followers. They didn't stop coming. They were like ants. If there was one another thousand followed. Mostly Erza and I had taken care of them, but Lucy and Happy helped too. Lucy pulled out her whip (which I have no idea as to why she caries it) and whipped at them, as Happy dumped trash onto them (what the fuck Happy?). But it wasn't enough. They surrounded us and I was starting to get a bit tired. I couldn't keep Rogue in this form for long, and it was just useless sashing at them all the time.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and I turned around, watching in horror as the temple had shifted right side up. No. Gray's in there. Does that mean he lost? Is he…? No. He can't be. I don't know what happened but I know that the shifting of the building has nothing to do with Gray fighting Lyon. But it does mean that moonlight will shine on Deliora, and that is ten times as worse than losing Gray.

We sat there, all of us in a strange silence. It was something about them. Their magic energy, it was so weak, but there were so many of them. _"These are normal humans mistress,"_ Rogue hissed. _"So of course, any magical energy they held within themselves would be incredibly weak."_ Meaning they have the potential to be magical, they just aren't. But then again, I could feel it. Magical energy. Higher this time but among a few of them. Some of them had to be wizards too or else I wouldn't be able to sense it.

As though she had read my mind, Erza said, "There are only 5 wizards among them. Do you think you can take them Lucy?" I guess they had been talking before as I was pondering this feeling I had, because Lucy then opened another magical gate, the gate of Cancer. It was a dark skinned man with a blue shirt and his hair was dark red and then bright red, done up to look like crab claws. He held red crab claw scissors in his hands too. Lucy wanted them captured but not dead, which, in Rogue's opinion would be easier than wasting out energy. I had again, felt the ground shake, as a purple light shot ip from the top of the temple. The Moon Drip ceremony was starting up again.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

By the time were finished, all the followers were wiped out and defeated, groaning in pain on the ground. I had returned Rogue to his original form, and we began to get ready to head to the temple, when one of them called out, "Wait!" It was an old woman with dark skin and some kind of headband. It was the exact same voice that had told us they had come to stop us from messing up the ceremony. A young man, with dark skin like hers, was holding her up, and guessing by the way his eyes had looked, so fierce and protective, he was her grandson.

Erza had recognized the headpieces that they both wore. "You people are..from the city of Brago," she said. "And you want revenge." The old woman grimaced. It was exactly what they wanted. The City of Brago must have been the last place Deliora was before Ur sealed him away in her ice shell. And these fools…they thought reviving that thing was actually going to make things better?

"Did you really think that would help? Getting revenge?" I asked. They were silent. "You're nothing but a bunch of idiots! Bringing Deliora back will only make this world a lot worse than it already is. Not only will Lyon get his ass _killed_ you fools will have unleashed utter terror onto the Western continent. Just because you've suffered doesn't mean you can make people who have nothing to do with it suffer along with you!"

"You don't understand!" the old woman yelled, then coughed. "You didn't have to watch as your home was destroyed, as the people you loved were killed in the wreckage of mass destruction."

"I don't understand? I don't understand?" I repeated. "No I don't, but _Gray_ whom by the way is trying to stop this, could understand. He was there when Brago was destroyed. His master Ur? Yeah, she's the _ice_ that keeps us safe from that revenge you want, this goal..is completely stupid. Getting revenge like this isn't going to do much good. Reviving Deliora is like worshipping the Demon of Destruction himself. You are pitiful."

Everyone was shocked. Erza and Lucy. The old woman and her grandson. Even the other people from Brago who ere down on the ground had stopped groaning. As I had said this, A part of the temple had been blown up, ice shards falling everywhere. "See?" I said. "Your 'Cold Emperor' has been defeated. Now do us all a favor and pick yourselves up. It'd be best not to embarrass yourselves even further."

Their eyes were cast down in defeat, as a loud, ear splitting roar came from the temple. It was so loud, I had dropped to my knees in pain. It was Deliora. Somehow, he had been revived.

XxXxXxXxXxx

We ran into the temple as fast as we could. Deliora had roared once more, shaking the temple. With that roar, I was certain he had been revived. I didn't want to be.

"Could that be Deliora?" Erza asked, shaking. I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it was happening. Deliora was alive. Lucy seemed more freaked out than anyone that this was possible. I didn't know she was so scared, so afraid to die. And then I saw it. A purple magic circle producing moonlight. And when I thought about it, it just became a strange occurrence to me. We were just in a fight with the ones who wanted Deliora alive. Originally, we had seen them performing the ceremony when we had snuck out of the cave. So who could've done the ceremony?

Erza wanted to get to the top of the temple and stop the ceremony. But I wanted to find Gray. He had gone in alone to fight Lyon. Even though he did defeat him, I was sure he had been hurt. Last time they fought Gray was a map of scars and bruises. He may have won this fight, but I'm sure he sustained some kind of injury. We needed to find him so he could be healed. Whoa. Did I just…_care_ about someone else's well-being? I shuddered a bit. This Fairy Tail family thing was getting to me. I never..felt that way towards someone I barely knew. Besides, it would look bad on fairy Tail if we let one of our own die because we didn't think about his injuries during a fight. Oh and don't forget Natsu. Where is that pink puffball anyway?

Lucy however, thought it'd be best to go where Deliora was, underneath us. So she wanted to see for herself if he was alive. I honestly didn't care what we did. I just needed to know id he was dead or not. Maybe if I could just be there, if I could hear it…_"You want to hear his heartbeat, don't you Mistress?"_ Rogue asked. I nodded, that is if demons even had heartbeats. Then it would be confirmed. I would either be afraid that I ever made the mistake of promising to watch over Lucy and Natsu or sigh in relief that I had not failed in keeping an evil monster dead.

Apparently we went upstairs to the top of the temple, where the ceremony was being held. It was Toby. All by himself, performing the ceremony. Erza may have disarmed him, but we were too late. The ceremony had been completed. Deliora let out a roar, a roar so loud and powerful that it blew wind over the whole island. This was it. I dropped down to my knees and pressed my palms to the ground. I closed my eyes and listened. _Deliora has just awoken and screaming his head off._ I tightened my eyes and concentrated. _He's in the cave, free from his icy glacier. Wait…is that Natsu? And…Gray? How did they get down there?_ I heard other heartbeats as well, but I couldn't tell whom they belonged to. _Deliora is huge…he's roaring..he's about to come up here and destroy us. Hold on…no way. It can't be possible._

I got up from my knees and faced Erza and Lucy. I smiled at them (mostly Lucy because I don't like Erza) and whispered, "He's dead."


	9. Informal Date

We stood atop the temple as we watched water flow from cracks inside of it. It was the former ice that was once Ur. Deliora had only been awakened only to let out his last dying breath. So basically all this time he'd been dying until he just…crumbled. The ice that was once Ur had melted and became water that flowed into the open sea. I took a small vial and scooped some up. I wanted to put it in a pretty bottle and save it. Gray must've been overjoyed. The monster that had been haunting him for 10 years of his life was finally gone. He had nothing to ultimately fear anymore.

Lucy, Erza, Happy, and I, met up with Natsu and Gray at a rocky part of the beach. Natsu was jumping with joy that we had finished an S-Class quest. I was pretty proud of myself too. It wasn't my first request, but it was my first major job. I couldn't wait for the money to be rolling in.

"You think Master Makarov will let us on the second floor now?" Lucy asked. It would make sense to let us. Then we'd automatically become S-Class wizards. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the wrong thing to say. I wasn't looking at her, but I had a feeling Erza was shooting a dirty look at all of us. Oh yeah she's here to take us back because we disobeyed guild rules. Ugh. But that wasn't what she had said at all.

"Isn't there something you're all forgetting about?" she asked. "You came to this island to cure villagers. You were supposed to return them to their original _human_ forms." Uh but hello? The Moon Drip ceremony has stopped occurring and Deliora is definitely dead. So they should be back to normal already. Problem solved.

"Wrong," she said and I really thought that she had read my mind. But she was talking to Lucy. " They have been effected by the intense magic energy released from the Moon Drip spell. In other words, Deliora's death isn't going to change a thing." So in a way we were back to square one. We had no idea how to change the villagers back even though we had stopped the Moon Drip and killed Deliora. But I guess Gray thought someone did know how to change them bcd, because he'd turned towards Lyon (whom we had to bring back with us because he was injured) and asked, " Lyon, do you know?"

Lyon looked at us all blankly with his slant eyes before saying, "To be honest, I don't have a clue." So we were officially back at square one. But then there were certain variables that didn't add up to put us there.

"That..makes no sense at all," I said. everyone looked at me. "It doesn't add up," I continued. "Lyon and everyone who'd worked with him were also exposed to the energy of the Moon Drip. They were also extremely close to it. But they haven't changed. So that obviously means Moon Drip doesn't effect the human body."

"Raphael's right," Lucy chimed in. "It doesn't add up. For the three years you've been here Lyon, the villagers have always seen the Moon Drip but they never went out to investigate it. Not once. So what exactly is going on?"

"Someone's either lying, or we've got another problem," I said.

"If I were you I wouldn't trust those villagers," Lyon had said as we began to head towards the village. I don't know what it was, but I just decided to listen to him instead of judging him. For some reason, I had a feeling there was something storage going on. But then again this is a strange island. Gray was straggling behind us and I was almost about to stand and wait for him, but then I saw him start talking to Lyon. I've never really had friends before, so I wouldn't know what it'd be like to see one again after ten years. But what I did know was that Gray and Lyon would stay friends for as long as time would give them.

We'd gotten back to the refugee camp and no one was there. They'd all just disappeared. Where were they? As we looked around Gray had gone into one of the tents, the infirmary where we had him sleep the night before. Before he went, he looked me straight in the eyes, beckoning for me to follow. I slipped in right after him.

"What is it?" I asked him, as he gathered some bandages and medicine.

"When I was fighting with Lyon, he used his magic and had an ice tiger go straight through my body. I sealed it up, but I need to know if I've lost too much blood," he said. The minute he said blood, I knew I was needed.

"Well then, let me see," I told him. He turned around and I saw the slash that had teared right through his perfect skin. With regular materials and medicine, it would heal, but slowly. It would also leave a scar. I don't know if he cared or not, considering there were other little scratches all on his body, but I could heal him without the scar.

"You may have sealed it, but you've lost some blood. Based on where that injury is you should be passed out, dying," I told Gray, stepping closer to him.

"Gee thanks, glad I'm still alive," he replied. "So what are you going to do to help me?" he asked.

"Well I'm pretty sure the others are waiting on us, but I'm going to use everything you have here. But with my magic, I'll be able to seal up the wound better. Then you won't have a scar."

"Aww, does someone not want my perfect skin to be marred for eternity?" he cooed. I rolled my eyes.

"When we find a place to rest for a bit, I'll do it. But try to use as little magic energy as possible because that is what's going to make it worse for you," I told him.

"Thanks Raphael," he said as he followed me out of the tent. Just then one of the demons, I mean villagers, had approached us. He needed us to get to the village as quickly as possible.

I was in pure shock. The village had gone from a complete wreck, to exactly how it was when we'd first arrived. How they did it I'd never find out. But it was scary to see how no one cared that it was just fixed magically liked this. It couldn't have been any of Lyon's followers. And I was certain that none of the villagers were wizards. So why the hell is no one questioning what's been going on? Chief Moka had thought _we_ were the ones who had restored the village, and he was very grateful. But he still wanted us to destroy the moon. How many times do we have to tell him that the moon has nothing to do with it?

"Destroying the moon is a simple task sir," Era said. I sucked my teeth at her. Just how much of a big shot was she?

"Oh come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "No one can destroy the moon. Not even you." Ok, so maybe that last part was just to get back at her for being so bossy and demanding, but I could feel the air thicken with awkwardness as soon as I said it. Wow, they were really scared of her.

She ignored me, saying to Moka, "Before I do that I need you to call everyone to the center of the village for a meeting. Can you do that for me?" Bossy ginger.

XxXxXxXx

We soon figured out that the Moon Drip spell had released evil energy in the form of the gas. It crystalized over the island, forming an invisible shell over it. So that's why it looked purple here and not anywhere else. Now that it's been broken thanks to Erza and Natsu's magic, the villagers should revert back to their human forms right? Wrong. I watched as all the villagers had glowed like they were about to change, but instead, nothing had happened? Wait what? I thought that if the shell broke they'd turn back. What's going on here?

"These are their true forms," Erza said walking up to us. "The Moon Drip never had any effect on their physical appearances, thought it did alter their memories."

"She laughed a bit before saying,"They think they're humans who've been turned into demons when it's actually the other way around." So these demons are _actual demons_? No way. I didn't have a problem with it really though, I couldn't figure out why everyone was so freaked out. And they couldn't go near the temple because the moonlight there was sacred, so creatures of darkness couldn't go near it. So why could Rogue and I go near it? He's definitely a creature of darkness and the mark…

Anyway, the villagers, I mean _demon_ villagers, wanted to have a big party to celebrate their freedom from the curse. "I don't know," Lucy said warily "I don't think I'm rowdy enough to party with demons."

"Oh come on!" I said, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Live a little Lucy!"

The party was pretty great. Everyone sat down at tables filled with food…really weird looking food. Some of it had eyes and some of it looked like giant maggots. Though it may have looked weird, it tasted delicious. Thankfully they had some wine, so I was able to wind down a bit about…well everything. I was completely drunk enough that I didn't remember what Gray had asked me to do for him. I saw him leaning against one of the fences, drinking some soup from a bowl.

"Hey there hero," I sang lightly as I sat beside him. He smiled at my little joke and continued eating.

"So I'm your hero now hmm?" he said. "I'm flattered, really." Why do guys always have to think that what girls say about them is to boost their ego? I punched him lightly, rolling my eyes.

"Oh get over yourself," I told him. "You almost died. Your heroism has a flaw or two. Anyway, since we're sitting down now and I see that you haven't let that medical supplies leave your side, why don't we patch up that nasty little wound hmm?"

He smiled saying,"That would be great." and then murmured, "I knew you didn't want to see a scar my beautiful skin."

I cut my eyes at him before saying,"Ok turn your body towards me and unwrap the bandage." He did as he was told and a big nasty wound was staring right at me. I opened the medicine jar and saw that it was the same glowing green paste Dad had used on me to heal my bite marks Rogue had given me when we were bound to each other. I stopped staring at it and dipped my fingers in, scooping out a good amount. I spread the green paste onto and around the wound which was starting to close up.

"Is that better?" I asked, concentrating on the wound. "I've used this before. It's supposed to numb pain. Does it hurt still?"

"Not as much as it did earlier, no" he answered. I continued rubbing on the paste, watching it disappear into his skin. Now was time to use my magic. Slowly, I used my fingertips to lightly rub circles onto the wound, pulling the severed veins together. I watched as, in addition with the paste, his wound gradually closed up, leaving a shiny thin scar.

"There," I said. "All better. That scar will peel off real easy the next time you take a shower. You won't even feel it come off."

"Thanks," he said. "Hey what did you do anyway?"

"That paste is supposed to be good for numbing pain, stopping burning sensations, and closing up wounds. On a regular person like you, that would all work, except it would take much more time and the scar would stay there forever. So I lightly used my magic to accelerate the process and closed up the wound, though even with this there'd still be a scar. But thankfully, it'll just fall off."

"Wow," he said amazed. "Wait a second," he asked, "What did you mean by '_a regular person like you' _?"

I hesitated before saying, "As in not me." I didn't want to talk about the strange benefits of my magic. It's not my favorite subject to talk about with someone I barely know.

I guess he could tell I didn't want to talk about it, because then he asked, "How come when you healed me, no magic circle appeared?"

"Oh that's just based on the strength of my magic I used," I answered. "Since I was barely using any energy at all to help you, the magic circles didn't appear. If I was doing something else like shifting Rogue into scythe mode, then the magic circle would've appeared."

He nodded, satisfied with my answer when one of the demon villagers came up. She looked nervous,as though she wanted to say something to Gray. And then more girls came up, crowding around Gray and I. He had fans.

"Sorry," he murmured as they held onto his arms and swooned about how they were all in love with him. Blecch.

I leaned over to him and whispered, "It's ok. This is what good guys look forward to when they save people right?"

And I walked away from the fence, leaving him in the hands of the demon girls.

*FLASHBACK*

_I sat against the tree, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to hide my embarrassment. I'd messed up and I didn't need anyone's pity. It was supposed to be a simple exercise, a climbing exercise. I was too arrogant, and so I'd fallen. On my way down, I'd hit multiple branches, causing scratches and cuts to appear all over my arms and legs. There was even one on my face. Of all the injuries I've had, I always make sure to leave my face out of the equation._

_Rogue and Ezekiel came over to me, and when they saw my injuries, Ezekiel scooped me up and brought me back to the house. He sat me down on the porch and went to go get Dad. Rogue stayed by my side, stroking me with his tail. I was waiting for Dad to come outside and try not to yell at me. If I ever messed up, I didn't need someone to tell me about it. I was usually mopey about it for a few hours before reverting back to my old self._

_But this was just a major mess up. I hated climbing anyway. It was too much of an effort. I don't even know why I did it anyway. Did I do it to prove I could do it, so that I'd never have to practice it again? Maybe. I didn't know anymore. All I knew was that my cuts were starting to hurt for the first time. I guess I was too shocked to realized I'd been bleeding this whole time. I was so hypnotized by the rivers of red on my legs and arms, and the small spots that fell onto the porch and seeped through the cracks, that I didn't notice my father standing beside me. Rogue had slithered off somewhere._

_"What happened this time?" he asked calmly._

_"I went climbing. As you can see, I failed," I answered._

_"Who told you that you failed?" he asked again. Couldn't he see that I was miserable? Was pretending that I hadn't let him down enough for him?_

_"N..no one had to tell me," I replied. "My scars are enough to tell anyone that I can't complete the simple task of climbing."_

_Dad sat down beside me, putting his arm over my shoulder, my bloody shoulder. "Ever since you took a liking to that snake, you've been such a cynical little girl," he said._

_I looked up at him, showing my face to him for the first time. I saw his eyes cloud a bit at my cheek scar, but he was still calm._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked._

_"It means you're too hard on yourself. I'm going to have to have a word or two with that Rogue of yours," he said. "Anyway, princess, just because you failed at this doesn't mean you're not going to be a good wizard. You already excel at so many other things in our area of magic."_

_I hugged him. I didn't think he would get it. I just wanted to be strong like him. I knew I wouldn't be perfect. I would never be perfect. But I knew that I wanted to be like my dad._

_"Daddy I know that but…but look at me. I'm so scarred. My skin will be like this forever," I whined. It was true. The way the cuts were on my skin, they were like red tiger stripes that circled my limbs. It would never go away._

_Dad chuckled. He was laughing at me! Why was this funny? I was already a freak, did I have to look like one too?_

_"Raphael," he said once he'd stopped laughing,"I guess that snake really hasn't taught you anything but to be a brooding little girl. Don't you know the extent of your magic? There's much more to it than draining people."_

_I look at him puzzled, so he continued. "I want you to think about the cuts and bruises and then I want you concentrate all your magic on them. Do you understand?"_

_I nodded though I didn't understand the point of it. I thought about the cuts, how they covered my arms and legs, and then my magic pulsed through me. I closed my eyes and exhaled and inhaled deeply. I felt it. Felt all my scarring go away, closing up. I opened my eyes and saw my skin. It was perfect and new. No scars._

_"What did I…what did I do?" I asked him._

_"You healed yourself," he answered. "How do you think I come out of the fights I get myself into without a scratch? It's a healing ability all Morphomagus blood mages have. But yours, because you have Rogue, it comes naturally to you. Think of it as when a snake sheds its skin."_

_"You mean I just shed my skin?" I blurted out, shocked. I could never tell anyone that. It sounds disgusting. I looked through the cracks in the porch to see if I could catch glimpse of a piece of scarred skin. My skin._

_My dad started to laugh so hard, he was practically doubled over with laughter. "Princess you don't shed your skin. You heal it by regenerating it back. I just said the snake thing because when snakes shed their skin, they come out with fresh, new skin. Leaving all their scars behind them."_

_"Well this'll be useful in the future," I said standing up. "Because I'll never let my enemy see one droop of my blood."_

_Dad smiled at me. "Oh? And why is that?"_

_"Because looking upon the blood of the Aisuru-" I started._

_"-will surely kill you!" we finished together. It was our little rhyme that we'd made up. It was special, just for he and I. _

_A few hours later, I heard my dad basically scolding Rogue for, as he put it, "darkening my imagination" and "screwing up my innocence". He was so angry that Rogue hadn't even taught me the self-healing method and how Rogue would have to start stepping up during our private training sessions. I knew Dad was angry, but I so badly wanted to go out and tell him that it wasn't Rogue's fault. Dad's voice suddenly got softer, and then I heard him say, "You know there are things that I can't teach her, that she'll never know unless you tell her. So please, try and teach her as much as you can. We're going to have to get ready to move again too. I just found out some wizards are looking for me, and I don't want Raphael or Ezekiel tangled up in that mess."_

_It would probably be a few weeks before we'd move. Whenever we did it was never for the same reasons. Sometimes, we'd moved to a place where our magic was illegal, or maybe I messed up and used my magic on someone, or just got into really bad fight in general. Or someone would have seen Rogue slithering around and freak out. Then, at times like this, we'd move because someone was looking for Dad. On our way to our new home, they'd always catch up with us. But they would never make it back to where they came from._

_Now that I knew that I could heal myself, I wasn't afraid anymore. I knew I could die still, sure. But I was confident that I wouldn't spill a drop of blood._

*END FLASHBACK*

We ended up taking a pirate ship back home that Erza had taken control of somehow. It was fun for awhile, being on a pirate ship, until the pirates started leering at Lucy and I. No wonder my brother was so protective of me. I couldn't help but think about him this entire mission. I thought about how useful he could've been. He could've figured out what was wrong with the villagers, the Moon Drip spell, and how to stop it all. Ezekiel had always been smart like that. He'd drown himself in history and folklore whenever Dad and I were training. Later on, it'd be his job to teach me what he'd learn, or at least most things. I wasn't very good at paying attention to the history of landmarks.

When I think about him, I think about how different my life would be if he'd…never left me. I laughed as I thought that I'd probably end up like Erza. Speaking of which, Erza and i were so different, I doubt that we'll ever really get along. She was all about the rules and I was all about breaking them. Erza was all about doing the right thing and I, I was all about getting things done, no matter the sacrifice. Well not exactly. I tried to keep the body count around me low as best as I could, though being me, it wasn't an easy task. I just wanted to try and get my job done without taking unnecessary precautions or screwing up. And there's nothing wrong with that right? My brother always told me that, as long as I had good intentions, I could do whatever I had to. Well, mostly good intentions. Mostly.

Once we'd docked in Magnolia, Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy, all started freaking out about the upcoming punishment from Makarov. At one point Gray was on the ground shouting, "Not again! Please don't make me go through that again!" I couldn't help but laugh them all. I knew I wasn't getting punished. I'd done my job retrieving Lucy and Natsu. The only thing I was getting was payment for even bothering to go get them.

"What's so funny?" Gray asked. "You're getting punished too remember."

"Oh Gray," I cooed. "Silly, silly Gray. I'm not getting any punishment because I'm not the one who stole away on an S-Class mission. If anything, Natsu and Lucy may be the only ones punished, you know, if Makarov spares you."

"Wha-what?" Lucy cried. "But you guys were on Galuna island too! If anything Erza's the one not getting punished."

"That's what they want you to think," I told her. "But really, all Gray and I were supposed to do was get you back. And well, it's not my fault if I'm exhausted from all punishment."

Erza stopped walking. She turned around and glared at me as she said,"What do you mean _all punishment_?" Oh I was _so_ ready for this.

"I mean _ginger_, that I get to walk a free woman. You weren't the only one playing bounty hunter today," I answered, an evil smile on my lips.

"Oh come on," Gray said, rolling his eyes. "By those standards, I shouldn't be punished either."

"All of you are being punished!" Erza yelled. "I will make sure you are punished to the full extent, _every single one of you_." She looked at all of us as she said these last words, stopping to glare right at me. I so badly wanted to flip her off.

XxXxXxXx

A beer slid to my end of the bar as I sat at in the guildhall. Gray smiled and sat next to me, clapping me on the back as he did so. Erza was so angry that I wasn't punished that she stormed off, ripping a request off the board as she left. Neither Gray nor I were punished, but I don't know what happened to Natsu or Lucy. We were dismissed as soon as Makarov was about to reveal what they'd have to do. And I haven't seen them since. Oh well not my problem. Well actually it is. Geez, why did money sway me?

"That's for the cutie who saved my skin and my dignity," Gray said as he took a sip of his beer.

"Oh, uh it was nothing," I replied. "I'm a bit privileged here that's all." I took the beer in front of me, since it had slid in my direction. I wasn't a fan of beer, but I could drink when I wanted to.

"Though I think Erza's pretty steamed about it," he said a bit later. "You've got her riled up you know that?"

I smirked. So redhead's world's been turned upside down since I arrived huh? That sounds like a personal victory to me. "I seem to do that to a lot of people," I answered.

"I for one would know."

"Oh?" I asked. "And can I ask why?"

He smirked saying, "A cute mage decides to join our guild out of the blue? Well I'd say I'm intrigued." I noticed Mira giggle near us before going off to serve some drinks.

I leaned over whispering, "Don't worry. I'm only as interesting as you'd want me to be."

"But you have to admit, Erza is an amazing wizard. Strongest female wizard we have actually," he said.

"Fine, that'll be the _only_ thing that I admit about Erza," I told him, taking a sip of my beer.

"Aww come on don't be like that," Gray cooed. "Why don't you like her?"

"Why?" I scoffed. "Can't you tell? We're complete opposites. People like me get on her nerves as much as people like her get on mine. "

I hadn't noticed how close he'd been until Gray leaned back. "Wow," he whistled. "Well I'm not going to force you to like someone but, you might as well try to get along. You're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

"Oh boy I can't wait," I said sarcastically.

Gray laughed before saying, "So I gotta ask, and I usually don't, but how'd you end up here?" Well he's really the first person to ask me that without it feeling so…invading. Well that's not true. I told Mira right off the bat how I got here which she thought was totally funny.

"Well I usually don't dive into the details of my personal life but you seem to make quite the exception," I said, smiling at him.

"I was actually doing some of my own work before I happened upon Makarov," I told Gray. "Well really he was watching me, waiting for me to finish up. Anyway we talked for awhile before I agreed to join this guild and well, here I am."

"You did your own work?" he asked. "What kind of jobs did Morphomagus blood mage take exactly?"

"Hmm well, that'll be the part of my life I keep a secret for now," I said as carefully as I could.

Gray pouted saying, "Aww come on. Do it for the _hero_."

I shook my head, smiling. "You seem to be the type of guy that likes a little mystery in a girl. Why else would you be so interested in me?"

"Hmm well, since you're so good at reading people Raphael, I'd like if we could continue this conversation on our way home," he said, teasing me. I looked up at the clock. Damn it was late. I nodded, getting up from the stool I was sitting on.

"I'll wait for you at the door," he said smiling. I needed to find Rogue. He liked to slither off somewhere around here, mostly watching the others play card games. I'd found him near Macao and Wakaba, playing a game of poker.

"Rogue come out from under there," I said as he slithered to my side from under the table. He'd been sleeping, having gotten bored of watching the game.

"Oh hey new girl," Wakaba said, as he played ace. "Your snake's very interested in card games. I think he wants to play with us."

"Yeah he's really good at pointing out when certain people are _cheating_," Macao said, shooting a playful look at Wakaba.

"Well I hope he's been a good snake and hasn't been biting anyone. Name's Raphael by the way," I answered.

"You can let us watch your snake for you any time you're on a date with Gray, Raphael" Macao replied chuckling. I was about to walk away when I remembered._ Did he just say date_? And now that I think about it, _did I just agree to let Gray walk me home_?

"Haha, good one guys," I laughed awkwardly. "But that wasn't a date. We were just talking that's all."

"It always starts with talking," Wakaba chimed in. Then they continued playing their game.

XxXxXxXxX

This isn't a date. It couldn't be. He just randomly payed for a beer for and we sat down to have a conversation…oh shit. This so _was_ a date. This is how guys do it. They see what they like at the bar. They swoop in and pay for their drink and when the girl sees what she likes, they talk. And then he brings her home. And they _do it_. Or at least, that's what happens to me. So it _looked_ like a date but it really wasn't one. I told myself that no matter what, I'd _never_ date a guild member so help me God.

"Ready to go?" Gray asked, knocking me out of my thoughts. All I could do was nod, so we walked out of the guild into the night and for some reason, I felt like all eyes were on us.

The night was warm enough for me to slip out of my leather jacket and hold it in my hand. Though, a few seconds later, Gray was carrying it for me which, I thought was the sweetest and politest thing ever.

"Aww," I said. "Such a gentleman."

"Well I try to act civil around beautiful women," he grinned. I couldn't help but notice that he was in his underwear again. This stripping habit of his must really be a subconscious problem, but I was used to it.

As we walked toward my apartment, we talked about things like our pasts, which I tried so hard to avoid much detail about, and the things like places we've been and things we've seen. Gray was amazed by my wide experience in travel and adventure, though, I tried to avoid the subject of my family as much as possible. I was fascinated with Gray's seemingly hidden creative side. He told me that he loved to use his magic because, he could will it to become whatever he wanted it to be. It was an art.

He also, as we walked together, flirted with me constantly, though he tried to be modest about it. He told me how he liked my fashion style, although he said he couldn't understand it.

"What's not to understand about leather and boots?" I asked. _Did he like the way I dressed? _Why does that matter anyway?

"Well, the way you dress says something about your personality," he said.

"Which probably means that _your_ dressing style says that you are completely open to anything," I drawled. What would you expect it to say, if you don't even wear clothes?

"Hey that's not my fault!" he exclaimed. "My magic just gets stronger if I'm…one with the cold."

"Hmm I guess I could see that," I said. This made him look hopeful, like I understood. "But then again I don't." His smile dropped.

We passed the wharf, where I occasionally came to clear my head and take early morning naps. It was the perfect time of day, or rather in between night and day, when the sun would rise, and one side of the sky was starry and dark blue, while the other was an orangey pink covered with whispy clouds. And the middle…the middle was just a white line separating the two opposite sides of time.

I hadn't noticed I was speaking out loud, because then I hear Gray say, "I like to come here too. Mostly to draw."

"Oh, you draw?" I asked. I started to slow my pace, because we were getting closer to my home.

"Yeah. Mostly so that I can remember the amazing things that I've seen when I go on requests," he answered. Rogue had stopped in front of our building, and descended the steps.

"Well this is where you live hmm?" he whistled. "Pretty fancy place for one girl."

"Uh yeah, this is me," I said, smiling. What am I doing?

He gave me a slightly awkward one armed hug before saying," I'll see you at the guild ok?"

As he started to walk away I called, "Wait! Gray hold on."

He turned around, just a few feet away. "Yeah?" he asked. "What is it?"

"Um..uh..maybe you could um...come over some time and show me your drawings. I actually like art," I stuttered. What the hell am I doing?

"Really?" he asked. "Ok then. You just tell me when you wanna see 'em. Hell, I might see you on the wharf sometime."

"Yeah," I replied. "Anyway, see you."

"Later," he called as he continued you walking.

I ran up the steps and locked the door, sliding down at it as Rogue came over to me. _"What the hell was that?"_ he asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

_"Was it a date? Why didn't you tell me you got a date?"_ he continued to ask.

"It was _definitely not_ a date!" I yelled. But then what was it? And didn't I technically just set up another date with him? I grabbed a wine bottle from the fridge and used my teeth to pop open the cap. I didn't bother with a glass.

"Besides, he didn't seem to have meant anything more than two friends having a drink at their place of work. It was harmless," I said, tipping the bottle back as the smooth wine ran down my throat.

_"But didn't you just set up another date with him to come here?"_ Rogue asked. God damn that nosy snake.

"Uh hello?" I said sarcastically. "It was informal and I didn't set an actual _date_ anyway. He'll probably forget about it soon." I sat down on the bed, bottle still in my hand.

"I can't help it if he thinks I'm cute. We barely know each other. It wouldn't work," I mumbled as I slipped off my clothes and changed. I set the bottle next to the bedside lamp and turned it off.

"It didn't mean anything," and I went to sleep.

**Oh Raphael! It **_**definitely**_** meant something. See? I promised chemistry and **_**viola**_** chemistry. Thanks for sticking with me guys! I work especially quickly for you. Funny thing though, my mom caught me reading dirty fanfic so I'll be a little slow with the updating process. It was my fanfic and she read the first sentence of chapter 3. Anyway, Review as much as your fingers will let you. Oh and chapter 8's ending? I had a **_**way**_** better one but I didn't save it so I had to type it all over again. So if it was kinda sucky…I agree. Let's see how Raphael copes with working together with the other guild members shall we? **


	10. Life Isn't so Typical

It's not that Gray and I had been avoiding each other since our little encounter, it's just that…we were both busy with jobs. He'd gone to some towns over by the sea and I stuck to the train route. I didn't have any reason to tagalong on any of his or Natsu and Lucy's missions. Frankly, Natsu and Lucy didn't need me to watch over them as much as Makarov said I'd have to. Jeez, old people love to stretch the truth don't they? The most I saw of Gray was at the guildhall, where he was busy getting into a lot of random fights with Natsu. Of course, I'd always made sure to stay out of the way of those two when they're fighting. I didn't need Gray on top of me anymore than he had to be. Which was never.

My least favorite wizard was nowhere to be seen, and I honestly couldn't care less. The less I saw of Erza the better of a mood I was in. Rogue thought I was being childish and frankly, I thought I was too. I couldn't help it. My defiant like attitude was kicking in. I'm not a fan of being told what to do and that's just what Erza likes to do. I've wondered since I met her _what's her deal_? She just barges in telling us to stop what we're doing and come home, like we're actually going to press pause on a crisis such as the one on Galuna. And _then_ she basically wants to take credit for all of it because she's an S-class wizard. I'm starting to get sick of hearing that word. Worst of all about Erza is her modesty. Since we technically weren't supposed to have taken the job in the first place, Erza said we couldn't have excepted any of the money.

Either way I still took some of it. It's not like I stole it or anything. The villagers were glad to give it to me anyway. I didn't tell anyone about it though because, I didn't need Erza to nag me about it all the way back home. You could say it was like, compensation for being forced to track down and help Natsu and Lucy. It really didn't matter to me because I had a great time in the process.

Anyway, Gray, Natsu, Lucy and thankfully Erza, all went to go answer another request from somewhere on the train route. It's funny actually because, I'm pretty sure I'd heard Lucy say she wanted to go out and do it alone. Oh well, can't stop friendship. Even though I'm pretty sure Lucy and Erza's friendship is based on fear. But who am I of all people, to judge?

Since they were gone, and there was no one to watch or bother, I decided to kick back for awhile.I'd only been living in Magnolia for what, two, three months? I barely knew where the market was, much less any place where people hang out. I tried my hand at memorizing my own path to the market, the park, the guild, and one cafe. Each time I took these routes, I found other places that I could go. There was a bakery, some clothing stores, even a little spa. There were also, apparently, little pubs here and there, hidden among the streets of Magnolia.

Well not everything goes so smoothly when you're just trying to act like a normal person. Which, believe me, is harder than it looks. I was just sitting in my home, catching up on some reading, when there was a knock on the door. I was a bit irritated. I wanted it to be a relaxing day where I would just read, take a nice hot bath, and have a nightcap or two before bed. And maybe, just maybe, it was the creepy landlord again, come to annoy me about something that I said wasn't working, even though I'd never said it and it'd just be an excuse to leer at me. Oh I forgot. I'd gotten him fired for strange behavior and sexual harassment. See? I'm a good samaritan when I can be.

It couldn't have been the new landlord who (and I looked into his profile personally so as not to have another greasy perv), has been married for two years and he and his wife went up to the mountains where her family lives so that she can have their baby. So he was out of town. It couldn't have been Natsu because, as far as I know, he's the only other guild member besides Makarov who knows where I live. Well I guess you could count Mira who told Natsu where I live, and Gray because he walked me home a few days ago, but neither one of them have a reason to come over here. Or so I thought.

I opened the door and there Mira was. She had a shocked look on her face like she had something really important and scary to tell me.

"Oh hey Mira," I greeted, stepping aside to let her in. "What's brought you here today?"

She walked in hurriedly, sitting on the couch and holding her sides. "Oh Raphael! It's..it's terrible!"

"What's terrible?" I asked, rushing over to her on the couch. "What's happened Mira?"

"It's the guild!" she said, bursting into tears. "Ph-phantom Lord destroyed our guild!"

I gritted my teeth, angry rushing through me. "What? Those bastards…they'll pay."

Mira wiped her eyes saying softly, "Raphael you know there are dire consequences when there's conflict between guilds. I mean like, Magic Council consequences. We can't do anything about it."

"What's Makarov doing about this?' I asked a moment later.

"I don't know, I've been out telling everyone who doesn't know yet. This is horrible. They just came out of nowhere," she answered.

"I'm coming to the guild with you. Hopefully Makarov will be tree to answer a few of my questions," I said, standing up. She followed suit and we left the apartment and headed toward the guild.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I sat in the dank basement of the guild. It's originally supposed to be used for storage but now, everyone's come down here to sulk about what's happened. According to Mira and the other members, we've always been on bad terms with Phantom Lord. Though, from what I've heard, there was anything recent enough to have possibly caused this attack. So it a random ambush. And to top it all off, no one was here when it'd happened.

It wasn't the first time I'd heard of Phantom Lord. I'd had a run-in with them a few years back. I actually thought they were a dark guild, what with a name like Phantom Lord. Anyway, the guys I'd fought were trying to recruit me, but when I declined, they tried to force me back with them. I kicked their asses after that. It's almost another reason why I didn't have any interest in joining a guild. I didn't really pay attention to the names and which side they were on but most of the time, a dark guild member would try to get me to join them. And in all honesty, I couldn't blame them. There were certain things that I've done in this world that will always follow me wherever I go.

Anyway, I looked up when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Mira went up to go look for more people and I guess she found them. Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Gray, all trudged down the stairs. Gray and I locked eyes for awhile, but then I'd looked away. I wanted to smile at him to tell him it was going to be okay, but it didn't seem necessary.

Makarov was hammered. I'm guessing he's not usually a heavy drinker but at times like these you just have to let go. He's drinking because he's trying to cope with what's happened, and judging by what Mira said, he's trying not to shout irrational plans of revenge even though he probably really wants to. I could see it was no use trying to talk to him about anything. Although, from his drunken state, I did learn that those asses from Phantom attacked when no one was around. Cowards. I should beat them up more than I'd plan to now that they can't even show their faces when they fight.

Seeing that he was a bit drunk, Erza asked, "Master, do you understand what's happening right now?"

"Don't even bother ginger," I chimed in from my seat. I didn't have to turn around to know she was looking at me strange. "Makarov's so drunk off his ass there's no point in trying to get anything out of him."

She growled a bit, obviously annoyed at my little comment on her hair. "There's no time for your bratty comments….," she trailed off, forgetting my name.

"It's Aisuru," I called, still not turning around. "Raphael Aisuru. I threatened to make an attempt on your life remember?"

"Oh yes," she said, stepping towards me. "How could I forget such a crucial moment in my life?"

"Don't you two start now," Mira chimed in. The tension in the room was high, high enough that I thought Erza might throw one of her knives at me.

"Look there's…there's nothing we can do 'cause….'cause guilds can't…duke it out," Makarov sputtered. "They..they haven't done anything to…to get us anyway. It's our guild, it can be fixed. So don't…don't go startin' trouble ya' hear?"

Neither Erza or I said anything. She had to obey Makarov and I had to listen to my dad's old friend. Besides, without him, I wouldn't be here now would I? I didn't have to turn around to know the conversation was over, and I didn't have to look up to people were staring at me. People always stared at me, whether I'd done something or not. Rogue, whom magically disappears and reappears as he pleases, snapped at my ankle to get my attention.

"What?" I murmured so no one could think I was talking to them.

_"Tsk, tsk, tsk Mistress,"_ he said, slithering up beside me.

"Don't go chastising me now," I said. "I don't have time to hear it."

_"You always get yourself so worked up underneath that Erza woman,"_ he said. _"Mistress what's wrong with you?"_

"There's nothing wrong with me," I growled. "I just don't like her."

_"Oh come on," _ he cooed. _"There must be some reason you don't like. Is it because you're…jealous?"_

"And just _what_," I asked lowly, "does Erza have that I don't?"

_"Oh I don't know,"_ he said, _"You've seen her magic. Very powerful it is. I hear she's the most-"_

"Most powerful female wizard in Fairy Tail," I cut in. "Yeah I already know. You think I care? No."

_"Then if that's not it what's got you all riled up about her Mistress?"_ he was getting frantic now. _You've got her riled up you know that?_ Gray's words rang in my ears.

"There's an air around her," I started. "A high and mighty air. An air that makes her think that everyone has to listen to her, that she is better than everyone."

_"So she's arrogant?"_ he asked. I looked at him for a moment before he said, _"Oh I see. You hate arrogance."_

"We can talk about it more later, but yes that's why I don't like her. Now go and be nosy elsewhere," I told him.

He bowed his head saying _"Yes Mistress." _And slithered away to terrorize someone else.

XxXxXxXxXxX

I lifted one leg up out of the bubbly water and scrubbed it with the washcloth. In all reality, I didn't understand the point of me taking a bath every night. I guess I just like the way the warm water unwinds me. I'd used special bath salt that the demon villagers had given as part of their gift. It was white but when it hit the water, it dissolved into rainbow foam. I didn't get to talk to anyone at the guild, especially after my little quarrel with Erza.

I don't know what it is about her, but every time I see her I just want to start a fight with her. It's not like I wanted her _dead_ or anything. Oh no, I just wanted her to see that she's not all that she thinks she is. One day I'll confront her about it. Just not right now. I've had a stressful day. I sink back, low into the water, trying to submerge my body in its warmth.

Suddenly, I heard a knocking sound on the window. I opened one eye, and saw Happy fluttering around my window, waving. What's going on? I began to stand up, the cold snatching at my body, which was enough motivation to quickly open the window and then sit back down again. Happy flew in, hovering near the window.

"Yes Happy?" I asked. "What is it?"

"I've come to bring you a message," he answered. "It's from Gray."

"Gray?" I wondered, a little interested. "And just what does Gray want to tell me?"

"He wants you to come over to Lucy's house and spend the night there with him, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and me," Happy said. God does this have anything to do with the attacks on the guild? Yes.

"Hmm, tell him, no because, I'm not staying in a cramped apartment with _Erza_," I answered. Happy nodded, and then flew out the window to go deliver my message.

He came back a few minutes later saying, "Gray said to stop being such a brat and just come over. Mira wants us all to be safe, strength in numbers, he said."

"Do you have any idea how many people wanted me to stay with them?" I asked. "_A lot_. And let me tell you something else. I can take of myself so _bullshit_ to your strength in numbers!"

"Before I go," he asked, "do I really have to swear like that?"

"Yes! You're the messenger, meaning copying us word for word, _swear for swear_. Oh and before you go, tell him he's interrupting my relaxing bath," I hollered. Happy flew out frantically, and I sank down lower in my bath. Honestly! What's the point of worrying about me, the newbie whom, may I remind you, _he barely knows_. Or is this some kind of ploy by Makarov? Be nice to the _new girl_, make friends with the _new girl. _Is Gray honestly caring for my health and wellbeing? Or is he just being nice, considering I did save his life. I'll never know.

Happy shot through the window, almost knocking into me in the tub. "Gray said," he panted, "Gray said that he's taking a bath too, so it really doesn't matter if you're taking one too. He said that Phantom might have some members in town so he just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh," I said, feeling bit bad. "Well then tell him…tell him thanks for worrying about a complete stranger."

"Oh I almost forgot," Happy said, before he left. "Gray also said that you can't start fights like you did earlier today, especially during such a critical time."

I take it back. I'm not sorry.

"Who died and made him Guild Master?" I asked. "Surely Makarov's still alive and kicking. You tell that little snow monger that I will start fights as I please. And he should be the _last_ person talking! He gets into random fights with Natsu everyday!"

"Okay I'll tell him," Happy said, and he was off to leave. Before he did I snatched him by his tail.

"What is it?" he screamed.

"Tell him this conversation is over," I requested. "Tell him that if he wants to talk to me again, tell me himself, not through some messenger cat."

"Ok ok!" Happy cried. "Just let go of my tail! I don't like it when people do that."

"Oops sorry," I whispered sheepishly. I didn't mean to hurt him, honestly.

Once he'd left, I got out of the tub. The water was starting to get a bit cold, and frankly, going back and forth with Gray ruined it. I walked into my room, toweling myself off, thinking about the gravity of the situation. Phantom didn't seem like the type of guild that would just target the guildhall. This little fight they're starting? I feel like they'll keep hitting until we hit them back. And I don't think it'll take many hits for Makarov to get pissed and go kick some Phantom ass.

I lied on the bed and pulled the covers over myself, until I couldn't see the light coming from the street. I thought about all that had happened between Gray and I. Not one memory, not one thing convinced me that Gray genuinely cared about my safety. Not even when we first met which was when he fell on me-no. That's not when we first met. When Gray and I actually first saw each other, like _literally_ saw each other, it was when I was on my way to a meeting with Makarov. He was just staring at me, watching me. There's was something about me that Gray was interested in, which unnerved me. It was very hard, getting to sleep tonight.

_The Next Day_

Makarov was _pissed_ when he found out that Phantom had targeted one of our own. It'd gotten him so angry, it knocked him out of his drunken stupor and caused him to have _the whole guild_ charge down to Phantom Lord to give them a piece of our mind. Since I didn't know the guild members who were attacked, I really couldn't say I was fighting for them. But ever since they trashed our guild, I've been itching to fight. I felt like an animal that had been given the chance to run freely after being held captive in a cage.

Phantom Lord's guild was located in Oak Town, north east from Magnolia. There were massive castles almost everywhere, and Phantom Lord just happen to occupy the biggest one. I've never stormed a castle before, but from what I've read it sounds kind of fun. No introducing needed, Fairy Tail was coming in! We bust down the door and swarmed the place, most of the guild members surprised. Did they actually think we'd just sit back and let them hurt one of our own? A part of our family? Hell no.

XxXxXxXxX

Everyone got a piece of action when we made a personal visit to Phantom Lord. It was almost delightful at how my guild got to show what they were really made of. Including me. Sure, _Vipera Falce_ or Viper Scythe was something I could do, but when I did that, I wasn't particularly trying. Viper Scythe comes so naturally to me that it's almost like walking. You don't think about it you just do it. Anyway, it was my time to show off though, I'd have to go easy on these Phantom guys. We came to fight not kill.

I was surrounded by ten guys all ready to pounce or shoot magic at me. I looked side to side and saw no opening. Just the way I like it.

"Aw," one of them cooed. "She's so scared she can't even make a move!"

"Hey girly, why don't you drop the fairies and come work with us?" one of them asked, leering. "We'll make sure you have a good time." Disgusting.

"Come on, it's ten against one," one of them hollered. "Why don't you just give up and beg for mercy?" they laughed. Pigs.

I smirked and held my hands out pointed at both sides. "Oh come on, ten against one, especially a pretty girl like me? That doesn't seem fair," I cooed.

I crossed my arms quickly and held them out again, whispering the spell as I did. "But first," I smiled, "Let's play a game."

I pulled my arms back and crushed them into fists, watching as all ten of them fell to the floor and screamed. I aimed for the blood in their limbs. Since I couldn't kill them, torture seemed to be a more suitable method. If I was like everyone else, and my magic was created into magic energy, it would be very difficult to pull on multiple veins of different bodies. But since I'm not, this i nothing but a little tiring. Pulling on more than one body uses more difficult spells than the simple one-body spell. First off, I have to use both hands, and unlike using my whole hand to pull back, I have to use my fingers. Making a fist too fast or too slow creates pain either way.

As I stepped over the bodies of the passed out wizards I murmured, "And if you _ever_ tell me to beg," I leaned down and whispered deathly into one of their ears, "I'll crush your heart from the outside."

I knew it was an empty threat, considering I was never taught, nor learned how to crush hearts from the outside. Not that I needed to. I was powerful enough. I did know how ever, that I never would in my life know what it'd be like to see Makarov's magic to it's full extent. Until now. Makarov grew till his head barely hit the top of the ceiling. HIs voice thundered throughout the whole of Phantom Lord's guild, like a god. He was angry, angry that Phantom had stooped so low and attacked us when no one was around. He was even angrier when they ambushed one of our own, using them like living warning signs of some sort. It was bad enough as it was. Uncontrolled magic, fueled by emotion was bad, cut controlled emotion filled magic? That was even worse.

Makarov swatted his hand in one direction, causing Phantom guys to go flying. Then he disappeared up the stairs, cracking the ground under his feet with his magic. I am so glad I am not part of this guild. Anyway, we attacked and hit as hard as we could, but these Phantom guys were like a swarm of ants. They just kept coming and coming. It wasn't that I eventually became tired, I became _bored_. There was no more passionate fight in me, no more pent up angry energy. I was so bored with this endless fight, I just barely missed it when someone was flung at me. But even then I fell. I wasn't really paying attention to who it was, I just knew that I wanted them, him to get off of me. Just as I was about to throw the guy off I heard his voice.

"Fancy meeting you down here," Gray said, smiling down at me. Why me, why does he fall on me?

"Yeah well, I wasn't paying attention," I replied. I almost couldn't will my legs to lift up and move him off of me.

"You think you can get off now?" I asked. "This is the second time you've winded up on top of me."

"Oh yeah sorry about th-" he got cut off when a huge amount of magic was shot at us. He gripped my arm and covered us both with a shield made of ice.

We were alone like that for awhile. In this ice shield time had stopped, nothing was happening, no sound was made besides Gray and I's breathing. He lifted his head up from ducking down and looked into my eyes. His heart was pumping fast. I could hear it as it pulsed adrenaline into his body so that he could keep up the shield. Even though we were covered by the cold, it felt like our body heat, the heat we were creating between us, was melting the ice. And as that ice would melt time would move again and Gray and I would just be on the floor of Phantom Lord's guild during a major battle.

Once Gray was sure we were ok, the ice shield fell around us, and he got up from on top of me, holding out his hand. At first I just blinked at him, wondering if he had let the weird connection between us under that shield. But then I was smacked back to reality, and I grabbed his hand and he helped pulled me up.

"So maybe there really is a good side to having you flung on top of me," I whispered. He nodded, and we both went separate ways to go help fight. But as soon as we had momentarily stopped, everything was over.

Something small plummeted from the rafters and crashed into the ground. Everyone stopped and gasped. I heard Erza shout something, but the words held no meaning or sound to me. It's not that I couldn't hear her. It's just that her words were so foreign, so unbelievable, that I couldn't comprehend them. Makarov was down. His skin was green and he was making a weird face as though he'd seen the most hideous creature in the world. And there was no magic energy coming from him at all.

"Fall back everyone!" Erza called. What the hell is she saying? Why're we backing down? I didn't want to leave, now now, not when they'd hurt Makarov. I wanted revenge, I wanted to crush those Phantom freaks into dust. Screw sparing them. Intensive care unit here they come.

As everyone started to retreat, I stood there in my own then something had curled itself around my leg and I looked down and saw Rogue.

_"Mistress there's nothing we can do",_ he said. _"I know you're hurt and angry, but you can't let that blind you from seeing that retreating is the best option. I know you want to slaughter every single one of these Phantom people, but that would only make everyone in Fairy Tail, especially you, look bad. Please listen to me Mistress, I want you to be safe."_

He was right. Rogue knows me all too well to know that it would be stupid to kill these people. Besides, Makarov's not even dead so not's like I'm avenging his death. I closed my eyes tightly and sighed, then I ran back to the guild with the others.

_Minutes Later…._

I felt completely useless as I watched silently from a corner as the others tried to figure out what was wrong with Makarov. At first I thought that I could at least try to subside some of the damage, but none of his injuries or, whatever had caused him be sick like this, wasn't physical, so I couldn't use my powers at all. He wasn't stabbed, cut, scratched, poisoned, or any other physical injury. If he was poisoned I could paralyze him momentarily to slow down the poison from reaching all the points of his body. But it wasn't that. It was..something else…something magical.

They, or should I say Alex and Bisca, had brought Makarov to a woman named Porlyuscia. She is a highly skilled healer, whose speciality is curing ailments that were caused by magic. So obviously we lived on two sides of the healing spectrum. Porlyusia lived a life of seclusion, so I could bet that she didn't feel all too comfortable with Bisca and Alex there. When they'd gotten back, they'd told us Porlyuscia's words on how Makarov was doing. You could say he was in critical condition, because he was so old and because his magic energy had been taken away so quickly.

The mood wasn't much better at the guild. Everyone who'd gotten hurt was being bandaged up, and we were all still pretty pissed about retreating. I stood in the corner with Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Elfman and we watched and listened as the rest of the members started to plan a counter attack. I knew it wouldn't be as easy as last time, since those Phantom freaks know we're fighting back now. Lucy seemed..tense. She wasn't at the fight, and after we'd all left, she'd shown up with Natsu. What'd happened to her? She was sitting on the barrel and practically shivering with guilt.

"…bringing up being a runaway isn't really a good conversation starter," I heard Lucy say? Runaway? I need to start listening.

"It's not your fault you were born rich and that bad people are comin' after you for it," Elfman commented.

"But this wouldn't have ever happened if I hadn't runaway!" she cried. "None of you would be hurt, the guild wouldn't be damaged and Master Makarov…." she began to break down in tears.

I hated it when people cried out of guilt, especially when they weren't guilty. Like Lucy over here. She believes in her mind that the fact that she ran away from home caused her father to call Phantom Lord, who attacked us, which in the process hurt Makarov. But none of that was her fault purposely. She couldn't have known what would've happened. From what I'm listening to, her father barely noticed her until now, when she's not around.

Her tears were starting to annoy me. Gray and Natsu tried to get her to stop because whatever Elfman tried just made it worse. Why is it that men are so useless when it comes to comforting a girl? Geez. I walked over in front of Lucy, ushering Gray and Natsu out of the way. She had her head down and was still crying, so she didn't notice when I put my hands on her shoulders. I crouched down and whispered sharply in her ear, "Shutup and stop crying."

She was suddenly silent, but still shaking with silent sobs, so I continued. "You have no reason to cry right now. None of this is your fault understand? I've done much worse."

"But-"

"Shut. Up. You're 17 years old, one of the youngest members here. There is no reason for you to feel guilty about any of this. Phantom's hated Fairy Tail for a long time, and they're using you as a reason to justify their attacks. Don't let them use you."

Lucy stopped shivering and stopped making noises. I put my arms around her in a hug and pulled her close to me.

"You..you've done..worse?" she asked quietly.

"If its any consolation, yes. I've been hunted down on multiple occasions and..done a few worse things," I whispered. I knew those around us could hear me. But I didn't care. They've been itching to know a thing or two about me, so I'm just going to let this one slide.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Really? You're not just saying that?"

I shook my head before saying, "Not everyone was a fan of my father. He didn't exactly…follow the rules like everyone else did."

"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree does it?" I heard Gray murmur. The only reason I didn't turn around and smack him upside the head was because he was right.

I ignored Gray and said, "No one's gonna live a perfect life, especially not as a wizard. We go through more crap than anyone else, even though it affects us all. There are certain things you've got to let go and move on from, and this is one of those things. This isn't your fault, you aren't alone in this fight."

We smiled at each other after that. I never knew that I could say something like that to anyone. I got up and patted Lucy on the shoulder, and stood up, leaning against the wall again, closing my eyes. This was all so frustrating. No one wonder Dad hated guilds. Their rules were stifling, and even in the time of justice and desperation they were still unfair. Pretty much, Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord could not coexist. Only one could come out on top or at least, only one one could be allowed to remain standing. Which is so unfair because our guild has been wrecked before this fight has already begun!

At first we were just gonna duke it out, give them their own medicine you know? But then they, or should I say their _master _ took it too far when they injured Makarov. And during that, they kidnapped Lucy, which, if you think about it, is a father's sick way of hunting his daughter down. Basically, Phantom's going to use the excuse that they're hitting us hard to get to Lucy which would be such a huge lie. Ugh, this is so irritating!

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Rogue start to talk to me.

_"Mistress, we're getting ready for a new attack,"_ he said. Another one already? But…

"How many are able to fight?" I asked.

_"About one third of the guild is ok to fight, the others are too injured to risk,"_ he answered. I stroked his head, and as I did I noticed his scales were slowly starting to dull. Dammit. We need to hurry this up and get another job fast.

He started to slither away when I whispered softly, "So why didn't you tell me you were starting to dull again?"

_"It wasn't my intention to disobey you Mistress,"_ he said. _"It's just that we'd used, or rather, wasted so much magical energy on those punks in Phantom that yes, I'm starting to dull."_

Damn it. I knew it wasn't worth all the energy. The deeper the red of Rogue's scales mean that when he's in scythe form, the blade is sharper. But after awhile, his scales will start to dull if I don't drain something soon.

"Fine then," I replied. "Do you think you'll have just enough energy to fight this one and maybe….maybe you can slither off into the East Forest and eat something."

_"I think I can manage this battle Mistress,"_ he hissed. _"But yes, I'll go into the East Forest as soon as possible."_

"Good. Off you go," I said, and he slithered away. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. So many problems, yet so little time…


	11. Letters From My Father

As we contemplated our next move, there was a huge crashing sound that shook the entire guild. Small flakes of plaster and dust began to fall as the crashing boom continued. Everyone was confused. What is that? Suddenly one of the guild members came rushing back inside, telling us to go outside. I could not believe what I was seeing. Phantom Lord's guild was literally coming straight towards ours. It had mechanical spider like legs that helped the huge castle move. It moved through the ocean and was starting to get closer to the guild. How the hell is this possible? What kind of magic allows you to move buildings?

Suddenly, the moving guild hall came to a stop, anchoring itself in the water. There was tension in the air as we waited. Then, one of the walls of the castle slid down revealing a magic cannon. The cannon expanded, probably about 50 feet long. They're going to take us out with a magic cannon? Unfair. When the cannon finally stopped expanding, a giant black hole looking thing appeared in from of it. There was a surge of strong magical energy in the air, so strong you could practically breathe it in. The black hole began to swirl and you could hear it start to generate it's great power. As it did, it began to grow stronger and stronger.

I heard Erza shout, a warning to get everyone away, and we all watched as she requipped into this shielding like armor. She was going to try and block it! What is this a death wish? She couldn't possibly…if she even _survives_ this, her magic energy will be so low. There was no time to change her mind, because not a second later, the giant magical cannon shot out a huge blast of magic. I watched as Erza put her two shields together and a massive green magic circle appeared, trying to block the blast, or at least, push it back. But it was too powerful, even for her, and even though she stopped it from hitting the guildhall, it broke and ripped at her armor until she was thrown back by its force. We all watched as she fell and rolled about 10 feet away.

Mira and some others went to go tend to her and bring her back into the guildhall. As they were leaving, there was a voice.

"Makarov has fallen. And now Erza can barely stand," I wasn't positive, but I was sure that was the voice of Phantom Lord's Master, Jose.

"Any chance of victory has slipped through your fingers. Give us Lucy Heartfilia immediately. You have no choice."

Suddenly a riot of voices began to rise up. Everyone was shouting things about Lucy. They'll never get Lucy. You'll have to go through us to get Lucy. We'll die for Lucy. Everything they were saying was so valiant and courageous, but they had no idea what it'd do to Lucy. She was already torn up thinking this whole thing was her fault. I don't know what she'd do if someone actually died for her…

Jose was getting impatient and growing angry at our defiance to give up Lucy peacefully.

"Fine! If I can't ask nicely than I'll give you a second helping of Jupiter! You've got 15 minutes to hand over the girl or die!"

After resting for a bit, I felt a little more energized now. It was obvious that Jose wasn't going to give us fifteen _peaceful_ minutes. He was going to send out more Phantom wizards. And I was ready. I heard this strange ghostly moan, and watched as hundreds of little black caped….forms came flying out the windows of the guild. So now all the members can _fly_? What the hell is this? He was going to either have us torn apart or shoot us, which he'd do either way judging by how much he hates us.

"Those aren't men," I heard Cana say. "They're phantom soldiers created from Jose's Shade magic. They're not human, so it wouldn't matter to him if they were destroyed." Not…not human. No, not _living_. If it's not living, my magic can't work on them. I…I've never fought anything I can't use magic on. Never. So that just means I have to use my badass combat skills on them right? I'm pretty sure these ghosts won't mind taking a hit or two.

Natsu didn't seem as eager to fight ghosts as everyone else was. Like he has always been, Natsu goes for the big job. He wanted to destroy the cannon. I watched as Happy flew him straight into the barrel. As they left, I saw Elfman and Gray leave as well. What were they up to? Never mind them, I had to help out everyone in protecting the guild. But…when I looked around to see who needed help, I saw that anyone who wasn't shooting anything like Alex or Bisca, was going down. When one of the phantoms approached Wakaba, it went through him and he went down. He touched it, or it touched him. Either way contact was involved.

"That's right," Jose's voice rang. "My phantom soldiers drain your life force with just one touch." Now I was _really_ useless. If I could use Rogue in this fight, not only would I be endangering myself but him as well. His scales were already fading, I wasn't about to let his life-force get drained either. But now I couldn't fight them regularly. If they touch me, I'm down for the count. So now what?

I knew that the best thing I could do was go back and help Mira take care of everyone else who was injured. I'm good at that. I started to sprint towers the guild. Everywhere around me, I heard people going down, or fighting for their lives. Someone shouted at me and suddenly I realized that a phantom was coming right at me! I braced myself to get hit when someone tackled me down. It was Loke. He'd shot a light magic spell at the phantom that was right in front of me. I couldn't hear it's heartbeat because it was dead, making my skills entirely useless. I scrambled up from the ground and thanked him as I kept running back.

I made it inside our broke guild hall and well, the place was trashed. Tables were flipped over,the bar where Mira worked was totally wrecked, flags with our guild mark were completely shredded. I practically had to crawl up the stairs to the third floor to the Master's meeting room. The stairs were broken in with holes that took up 2 to 4 stairs. I knew where to go because, that's where they had moved some of the injured. Or so I was told. When I got to the Master's meeting room, only two people were in there. Mira…and Erza. Mira was standing watching the battle from above and Erza was knocked out, her body moved on top of the Master's desk.

Mira turned around, her face still sad, but she gave me a small smile. "Hey Raphael," she managed to say.

"Uh, hey," I replied walking up to her near the boarded window.

"This is very serious, Raphael," she said to me after a few moments of silence, watching the battle below.

"Yeah I know," I reply. "I know the difference between a small fight and a war."

She laughed a bit before saying, "No I know that you know that. I'm talking about you and Erza." I inwardly cringed. Here it comes.

"You can't just start fights at a critical time like this. I don't know what your rivalry with Erza is, but it must be on hold until this is over. Look at her, she's not going back to fight out there."

I tried to keep my attitude in check around Mira, but this was seriously pissing me off. "I don't have a rivalry with her, I just don't like her. Which honestly seems to be a problem here if you can't get along with everybody. Which I don't. Because I don't know everybody. Did you talk to Erza about this, or am I the only one being lectured here?"

"I'm going to have you talk to her about it yourself," she said. "She'll be up in about 10 minutes or so and you two are going to work this out yourselves. Until then, think of how you yourself can work out this conflict." And with that she left the room.

Dammit! Why, why was it so hard for people to understand that not everyone won't like them? Gray and Natsu fight all the time and they even cause fights between the whole guild! So how exactly is that different? But then, when I think about it, Natsu and Gray are friends and they're just kidding around, right? So then this is different. I sighed. What exactly was I going to tell Erza? Sorry that I think you're a total bitch? No, she'd probably get up and fight me then.

I sat at the desk, and stared at the unconscious Erza. I saw what she could do, how powerful and strong she was, but what was so great about her anyway? There are wizards all over the world who are as great as her, even better. So why, why did everyone, idolize and fear her? I stopped. Was that it? was I _jealous_ of Erza Scarlet? No, that's not it. I remember the reason why I hate her now. Well, two reasons anyway.

Suddenly there was a groaning sound, and I watched as era sat up on the desk, holding her head.

"What's going on? Where's Mira?" she asked, looking around. She squinted her eyes when she looked at me.

"Apparently I'm on nurse duty, because out there, there are phantom soldiers which drain life force with just a touch, and I can't fight like that," I told her, looking her dead in the eyes.

"Well," she started, "wasn't Mira here a few minutes ago? Where is she now?"

"I don't know where she went but she left me with you because..we have some _issues_ that we need to take care of according to Mira," I answered.

"Issues? What exactly could that mean?"

I sighed. Why did this feel so hard? I do it all the time. "Our little spat earlier is starting to raise eyebrows."

"Well it's not my fault you act so childish," she huffed. "Maturity doesn't come naturally to everyone." That's it! Screw it, if she gets up to slap me I'll slap her right back down.

"You know what," I sighed angrily. "I'm just going to say it. We don't like each other, and honestly you just gave me three reasons why."

Erza stopped, staring at me blankly. I continued to let out my anger.

"To be honest, I hate you. Everyone, loves you and idolizes you like some god, and I wonder, what's so great about Erza? And you can say it's jealousy but it's not, I would never waste my time being jealous of _you_. You, who is arrogant enough to think that she could actually stop the force from magic cannon. That's what I don't like about you. Your arrogance, always thinking you're the heroine who's gonna save the day and everyone will praise. And when someone like me comes around, someone who's just not that impressed, especially getting to know your attitude, you just can't stand it."

She looked at me, speechless. Had no one seriously ever talked to her like that before?

I was about to continue when she interrupted me. "And what does that make you?" she asked. "You think you have the right to just walk in and judge everybody? The first thing you did to me when we first met was _threaten my life_, so of course I'm not going to like you. All you do is undermine me and make little comments, you act childish and try to pick fights with me. I swear to god you're nothing but a little punk-"

She never got to finish her sentence because, I slapped her. I slapped Erza Scarlet. "Don't you _ever _call me a punk again. I threatened your life because you threatened Gray's life over some stupid rules. What was more important at the time, stopping a raging demon from being revived or going back home for some stupid punishment? You're a fucking hypocrite because I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to purposely threaten the lives of your fellow guild members. And then another reason we'll _never_ get along is because of how you treat people. You think because you're so powerful, that everyone should just automatically fear you. I'm not into that shit. You think you can just walk into a situation and start bossing _me_ around then yo've got another thing coming.

"You act as if you have no fear, that courage is your middle name. And _that's_ what makes you arrogant. Without fear you become careless, and carelessness leads to failure, which, in some cases leads to death. With arrogance, you have no sense of control. You think that you can use your power as a weapon over people and control them. You may think fear isn't real, that it's all in your head, but that's a bunch of bull. Fear is control and everyone needs a sense of control."

I wasn't sure if that last part was for Erza, or if I was really talking to myself. But it is true.

"I see.." she said at first. "Well, in all honesty I don't trust you, and I don't think I ever will. There's something about your magic, no, just the energy you give off, that makes me think of darkness." As she said this, I noticed her eyes trail down to my left arm. In my mind I wanted to cover it, but that would've been cowardly of me. Instead, I put on my jacket again.

"I don't like immature people if you haven't noticed," she continued. "Trying to pick a fight with me is pointless, I won't listen to you. Anyway, the reason I don't like you is mainly, again, I don't trust you. No one knows exactly what you can do for magic, but Lucy tells me that's _very_ scary. And that snake of yours, Rogue I think is what you call him? Is he some kind of magical creature that can requipp into weapons for you? I also couldn't help but notice when we were fighting Phantom Lord earlier, you didn't even use Rogue. You had him by your side but instead you did something with..your hands?"

She thrust her arms out before her like I had done. "And then you slowly made fists with both hands, and as each finger pulled in, each man surrounding you fell to the floor. They looked like they were in pain. What I want to know is, what exactly are you, and what is your purpose here in our guild?"

I laughed, and noticed how she said _what_ instead of _who_. "Ok Erza, you caught me."

XxXxXxXxXXXXxxxx

"I'm not exactly a common wizard," I began, mocking her with my smirk. "My magic is both rare and passed down through a family. I can't really say who had it first or if there are other people like me. If there are, they're either dead or on the other side of the world."

"Quit playing games!" she exclaimed. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"I'm a Morphomagus Blood Mage, a type of wizard who controls the blood that runs through veins of living things," I said. "It's not really something you can just come across everyday. Unlike regular wizards such as Lucy and yourself, I don't have magic energy that can run out after a certain amount of time. And that's because of this." I pulled up my jacket sleeve and showed her my mark.

"Know what that is?" I asked. "It's the sign of Anarchy, the mark of a Morphomagus Blood mage. It proves that I'm not lying. My magic runs straight through my veins, pumping through my heart like the blood. rogue is the spirit animal I'm bound to, a Blood Viper who is to do as I say until the day one of us is ended. I was invited into this guild by Master Makarov himself. He knew my parents and I've had a place in this guild since the day I was born. Satisfied?"

Ugh, I can't believe I just told Erza my basic life story. _Basic_.

"So the whole arm and fist thing was you..pulling on people's veins?" She asked. I nodded.

"And you're not here to suddenly sabotage our guild and send us into mayhem?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? God, arrogance really has made you stupid," I chided.

She sighed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness! I thought you were an assassin here to take us all out. The way you had your arm around my throat and dagger ready to go was so professional. I really thought I was going to have to kick your ass."

Assassin? That's..that's completely..on par. I guess I really do have to stop acting like killing is so..natural.

After a few moments she began speaking. "I just want to say I'm sorry for giving you a hard time. I say I don't like immature people, and yet I was acting so immature myself. To be frank, I too had another reason not to like you. You see, I'm a little jealous of you."

I burst out laughing. "You're joking right? Right?" She shook her head. "You're the most powerful female wizard in all of Fairy Tail! What could I have that you're so jealous of?"

"You're so laid back," she started. "You walk in here and just sit down at the bar like no one's watching you. But people look at you with such a gleam n their eye, like you hypnotize them. You swear like a sailor and you're very pretty. If you haven't noticed, people listen to you as you tell stories of what I'm assuming is your travels during your childhood. People aren't..afraid of you. Everyone's comfortable around you, and that, that's why I didn't like you."

I was quiet. I try not to make people afraid of me. Sure it's one thing to look a bit threatening, but in Erza's case where people really are afraid of you….

I took her hand and looked at her for a second then said, "I know what you mean, when people fear you. It's commonly bound to happen to me a few times. My mark..some people know it, and if they do…usually it's not good. So I actually do know what it means to be feared."

She smiled at me, a genuine Erza smile. There was this feeling that ran through, a feeling of…guilt. I'd said so many horrible things about her and she was here beside herself, jealous of me? God, I really am a monster.

"So what, are we friends now or something?" I asked.

"Hmm, I can't say we're really friends, but at least we don't hate each other," she replied. But then she started to flutter her eyes and I helped her gently lie back down on the desk. As she did, one of her feet kicked something.

I bent down to pick up this small little green treasure box, that had opened when it fell, and there were all these papers in it. They mostly looked like angry letters from the Magic Council or from towns in villages all over the continent. I laughed to myself a bit, because these people were so uptight about nothing. Geez, just be glad they saved your asses is what I'd say. When I collected the papers and filed them neatly, I noticed there was something sticking out of the inside of the box,like a little secret compartment. Well, it wouldn't hurt to just take it out and refile them would it? I pried open the compartment and took out the papers.

They were also letters except, they were to actual other people, not from the Magic Council. I noticed that they were mostly to and from the same person. Did Makarov have some kind of girlfriend? Eww, don't think like that. Well, might as well read them, they'll probably be a little less boring than the others. I filed the other letters away and sat down in the chair and made sure Erza was ok before I began to read. Instead of just reading them randomly, I had organized them by the date in which they were written. The letters seemed to be consistent throughout a few years, but there were some time gaps here and there. Whatever relationship Makarov had with this person, it was a good one.

I was shocked when I read the first two words on the first letter, well mainly for two reasons. One, the Jupiter Cannon had been blown up, and two the name of the person Makarov had written to:

**Dear Kenta…**

**XxXxXXXXXxxxxXxXxXX**

Makarov had been writing to my father, who had been writing back as well. When I looked at the dates of the letters I noticed that they mainly began two years after I was born and it looks like they stopped when I was around 12 or 13. I began to read.

** Dear Kenta,**

** It was great to see you and the kids again! Ezekiel has grown up since the last I visited, He'll be a fine young man once he's older. And it was great to see little Raphael for the first time in person. You'd sent me the photo of her at a few months old last year, but she's so adorable! You have yourself a fine daughter Kenta my friend and she'll grow up to be a beautiful woman just like Lani. She's very social and there's a bright aura around her I loved playing with her. But Kenta, we both know the real reason I visited. Is she like you, has the magic been passed down to her? Or is she like Ezekiel, does she just have magic not inherited from you? Kenta, everything you've gone through to get where you are, she may have to go through that. Please, if she is like you, contact me as soon as you can.**

**-Makarov**

The next letter was from my father, but not at the time when we found out I was like him, it was actually sent a few months after Makarov's letter.

_ Dearest Makarov, _

_ It's nice of you to stop by and come visit once in a while. Raphael's been whining for her 'Maki' as she likes to call you, and Ezekiel's been dying to hear another one of your stories. Also, thanks for the presents you got them. I'm pretty sure you just turned them into spoiled brats but Zeke's loving his telescope and those books you got him on magical places to visit, and Raphael being my smart little girl, is starting to write with the magic light pen you got her. Well, mostly just scribble, but Zeke's teaching her how to write and read. Anyway, I'd like to address your earlier concern. Unfortunately, for you that is, I __know_ _Raphael's going to have the same magic as me. The ceremony's in 18 months and as usual, I'll have known by then. You have nothing to worry about Makarov. If she's like me then…I'll have my Lani again. She looks like Lani, she acts like Lani, hell if we knew we were having a girl we should've just named her Lani. If Raphael's like me then I can have a strong connection with the last thing Leilani gave me, our daughter. So try not to worry old man, everything will be alright._

_-Kenta_

** Dear Kenta,**

** So it seems that your hunch was correct. Unlike her brother Raphael is a full blooded Morphomagus Blood Mage. So when are you going to start training her? I've noticed that your training usually consists of being totally in sync with your mind and body. Since she's passed the ceremony I'm pretty sure she'll do fine once you start practicing the hand and arm movements. But what will you have her practice on? She's 3 and a half so once you really start to use living things, what are you going to momentarily paralyze? A rabbit? A bear? Kenta, did you ever think just how seemingly traumatizing this will be for a little girl? I know it'll be another 2 to 3 years before she starts to do anything, but have you just considered that maybe you should try to hide it from her? Think about how it may affect her when she has blood splattered across her clothing. Kenta, have you even asked her what this even means to her? Does she even realize what this all means.**

**-Makarov**

I remember the ceremony they were talking about. It's almost like something stolen out of Sleeping Beauty. It except everything was a bit different. Ezekiel, my dad, and some men were in our house. One of the men handed me a rose. When I grabbed it, I immediately dropped it because I pricked my finger on a thorn. As Ezekiel patched up my finger, I remember watching dad as he stared intently at the rose. It was a simple white rose, but then, peeking between the men and my father, I watched as the bead of blood on one of the thorns ran up the stem of the rose and into the petals. The rose, once white, was slowly filled with my blood, rushing in and coloring the petals a beautiful blood red. And it stayed red.

The ceremony was a very simple process. Whomever the supposed successor of the magic was, had to prick their finger on a special magic rose called the Purity Rose. Ironic name considering the fact that in ancient times, if the rose changed red like it did with me, that would mean my blood was inpure. If I wasn't a Morphomagus Blood mage, my blood would turn the rose pink. But if I was, the rose would change into a deep red color, the color of blood. I don't recall a short man at the ceremony, but then again I wasn't really paying attention. After it'd changed color, they gave me the rose and told me to preserve it. I had it kept safe in a special box until it withered away completely. The next letter from father was a year after Maakrov's. I read on.

_ Dear Makarov,_

_ I can honestly say that I am insulted at the very fact that you would even suggest that I hide this from Raphael. She's already learning the spells and stances, it's too late to tell her to let it go now. She saw the rose that day, I told her what it meant. Makarov, I have never told you this because I know how you get but, they've seen me fight They've seen what my magic does, even though I tell them to hide. Never once has Raphael ever told me she thought of me as scary or anything you'd like to call it. Raphael's proud to be just like her father, and nothing's going to stop her from being my prodigy. I did however, ask her what it meant to her, what she knew. She's only 4 so I wasn't really expecting much but she told me this: she knows she's different, that she'll always be different. She knows that she'll cause a lot of pain. But she doesn't care if she inflicts pain on people who deserve it, bad guys who attack daddy she says. Calm down , I'm the one teaching her remember?_

_-Kenta._

The next few letters, were a bit miscellaneous so I just skimmed them a bit until I came to the actual important stuff

** Dear Kenta,**

** Sorry that this is a bit late, I had some business to take care of with the magic council. You know how uptight they can be. Anyway, how are the kids? I sent Ezekiel a few birthday presents. I can't believe he's already 15! You know, he's almost as old as some of the kids in my guild. Maybe he'd wanna join huh? I have some room left. How's Raphael doing? Any major progress achieved? I haven't seen her in a long time, so I wanna hear all about it. I hear you're looking for a shaman that can tell you where to find some spirit animals. So she's already that adept at it? Isn't she only, what 9? Anyway, there's a shaman by the name of Bruno in Hartland. He can tell you where to find the…wait a second there's only one kind of spirit animal you can find in Hartland. Blood Vipers. Why are you going after them they're evil Kenta, they'll poison her mind! I thought that, since she's so powerful anal, that she might get a tiger or a wolf, but a snake Kenta? Tell me it's a mistake, that you can't possibly be doing this.**

**-Makarov**

_ Dear Makarov,_

_ I can't stop what her destiny wants. If it wants her to have a snake then she's going to be bound to a snake, I can't stop it. I'm not going to pretend to have written this a few days before. Makarov, she's already been bound to her snake, which she likes to call Rogue. Sorry you got your information late, but I already knew about Bruno because he's the one who told us about Raphael and Rogue and he also sent us to the pit as well. You can't change anything now, we can't go back. She's already been marked and now, the real deal is about to start. He's going to show her so many things, teach her to become one with her magic like never before. I'll be monitoring their every move so I'll make sure he won't try to turn her against me or anything of the sort. Oh and about that guild membership you're offering to Zeke? You know how I feel about that. But I will say this. If anything should happen to me before they both (and that includes Raphael too) legally become adults, I want you to search for them and let them join your guild. After I die they only have each other and they'll need support from someone like you. I'll have to talk to Zeke about this._

_-Kenta_

After this letter from my father, there seemed to be a two year age gap. I'm pretty sure that they had discussed what would happen to Ezekiel and I in some previous letters, but maybe those were even so crucial and private that Makarov has them hidden away. Now I understand. Dad and Makarov were friends, and he would come visit and send us presents. However, Makarov was also looking out for my family. Well mainly, me. I don't think he had something against my magic or else he'd never be a friend of my father's. I think that Makarov didn't want me to be a Morphomagus Blood Mage like my father because he didn't want me to go through what I'd gone through already. All the running and persecution, the immense pain of training and perfecting my technique.

The next letter was from Makarov, but because of the two year gap in responses, I was having a hard time figuring out what the hell they were talking about.

** Dear Kenta,**

** Due to the heavily detailed circumstances of your letter, it would be my honor to become the kids' guardian in the event should you die before they are legally of age. However, would like to point out something. Ezekiel is going to be 17 soon, so if something were to happen before Raphael turned 18, would he be her guardian instead of me? In all honesty it would make more sense, as you've made it clear before Raphael doesn't really remember me. Don't you think it'd be strange if a very little old man showed up at their home one day and said 'I'm your new guardian now'? I think Ezekiel should help take care of her, it would be easier for her instead of suddenly transitioning into a new environment. Speaking of Raphael, I think you should start to teach the more advanced moves the…if all else fail ones. She's special Kenta, you've mentioned that a lot before. Don't waste her potential on just hard moves, waste it on hard to master moves, very rare ones. Even…forbidden spells. Your magic is already forbidden in certain places, so I find no harm in teaching her a forbidden spell or two. **

**-Makarov**

So that's why dad suddenly started to teach me these incredibly hard spells. Or maybe I should incredibly violent spells. I was being taught how to pull on veins of more than just one body. Rogue taught me this trick that I could do with my eyes that, was more helpful than not in the worst of situations. But the last thing my father taught me before he died was _that_. That one spell that I felt really, no literally in sync with my magic, with Rogue. But it was also the one spell I regret learning, the one thing that I feel would send me over the edge.

_ Dear Makarov,_

_ It's actually a good idea that you want me to teach my daughter forbidden spells. I mean I was kinda already doing it, but our magic is basically forbidden anyway. What's so great about it (and this is the only bright side I see) is that because it's so rare, you can barely get in trouble with the Magic Council for performing it on someone. I think I've been in at least a handful of the towns that forbid my magic, and they haven't suspected a thing. No one really remembers Morphomagus Blood magic, or what it's original purpose was. But I have very book and referral text about it. So yes, I'm going to teach her the more dangerous spells so that she can protect herself and so that, if she has any children, it can be something to pass down in the future. Talking about my death now, as though it could happen any minute, was at first a bit morbid. But now that I think about it, the life I've been living, the life I've forced my children to live ever since Lani died, I realize that I could die any minute now. It's sad I know, but you've warned me over the years about the dangerous life I live. It's really messed up but, you can't play daddy and assassin at the same time for long._

_-Kenta_

That was the very last letter my father wrote to Makarov. Because after that, dad died of a sickness two years later. Too bad I can't find those other letters, about what would happen after he'd died. I feel like those were the more dangerous letters, like something else were to happen surrounding his death. I held the letters close to my heart for a moment before folding them up and putting them back in the secret compartment of the treasure chest. I felt..some form of closure. I knew my father loved and adored me, but I didn't know he'd gone to such great lengths for something that he himself wouldn't know would happen so soon.

If I was being honest, now I know why Makarov pays special attention to me. I knew he knew my father, but I didn't know they were _that_ close. I think Makarov himself was concerned about me because he didn't want me to have to go through the pain and suffering I'd already gone through as a child. He didn't want me to be persecuted and hunted down like my father was, but despite that I think I would've encountered some form of prejudice for being my father's daughter. However, I've never thought what would've happened if that rose turned pink. Would I even be here? Would Ezekiel have ever left? Would dad…would he be still alive?

With all these thoughts running though my head I hadn't notice Rogue slither up to Erza and start staring at her heavily. He was thinking..how tasty she looked.

"Down," I commanded. He hissed a bit before coming over to my side.

_"What've you been doing all this time?"_ he asked. _"I heard some angry voices at the door, but then it got quiet."_

"Apparently," I started, "we're not enemies but we're not friends either. Before she passed out again she told me she thought we were spies or something here to kill them all. Isn't that ridiculous?" I started to laugh.

Rogue laughed for a bit too before saying, _"Well then what have you been doing since she's been asleep?"_

I sighed. I told Rogue about the letters, about Makarov's close friendship with our family, and about my father's apparent acceptance of death. It was actually less shocking saying it out loud then it was when I first learned about it.

_"Well that must be a lot to take in,"_ he said. _"I actually came out here to tell you to look out the window. Notice anything different?"_

As he said, I looked out the window. Phantom's castle had turned into a giant and was now casting some kind of spell….the abyss break spell. It looked like it was going pretty slow though.

_"As you can see, that's Phantom's giant trying to perform the abyss break spell. Because of it's large size it should've taken ten minutes to set that spell, but we've learned that the giant is powered by the element four, the four most powerful wizards in Phantom Lord. Anyway, 3 of the element four have already been taken down."_

"How do you know all this if you're not even inside?" I asked.

_"One,"_ he started, _"never doubt my information. it doesn't matter how I know just be glad that I'm sharing this information at all. Two, all we have to do now is wait for the last member to be beaten and then the giant will fail to work. But I think you should get out of here, Erza too. It's not safe being in a broke down place during a battle."_

"No, I'm staying. Until the roof starts to cave in then I'll get moving. Until then, we're all staying in here," I replied firmly.

_"Ok but what about when-"_ he was cut off when parts of the roof started to fall piece by piece. And then were these huge dark hands, slamming into the ceiling like hammers, over and over again. They were made of dark energy, cold and dead, like the phantom soldiers from earlier

There wasn't any time to think. Rogue and I both grabbed Erza's body as the ceiling came crashing in. We were getting ready to jump out of the window when I thought about the green box. Immediately I dashed for it, stuffing it down Rogue's throat and climbing to the window. Rogue protectively wrapped himself around Erza and I and we jumped.

**This was a realy long chapter to write, the longest ever written. I decided to dive into Raphael's life a bit more considering she's completely worthless in this particular fight. And yeah I know this is supposed to be a romance, but you just have to be patient with me! And also review, ideas count also, but they have to make sense with the story!**


	12. The Black Rose

I didn't exactly know what was going on after I had jumped out of the collapsing guildhall. I knew that Erza was safe, considering Rogue was practically trying to mash us together when we fell. I had her laid down somewhere nice and quiet where she could rest. Rogue had a few bruises here and there, but he said he would heal. He started to hack and cough until the treasure chest came out. It was covered in his slimy saliva and stomach juices, but other than that it was ok. I wrapped it up in my jacket and placed it next to Erza.

Since I wasn't really sure what had been going on, I was slightly limping back to the battle ground/former guildhall. Somehow, and I think it was because I took so long to jump, I was covered in bloody scratches and bruises all over my legs. People were running toward me, after seeing me jump from the collapsing building. They tried to get me to sit down but I refused, and pointed them to Erza's way. I stood behind Cana and Macao, who unknowingly covered me as more phantom soldiers came attacking. I was pretty sure something had hit my head, I couldn't really concentrate on using my healing mechanism.

"Hey are you ok-" Cana started, but she gasped when she saw me. Thing about me is, when I bleed, I _bleed_.

"Yeah," I panted, "just..just fine. So what's up with this Giant thing?"

"It's Phantom's all or nothing power the Super Mage Giant MK II. It was going to create abyss break, but it seems to be slowing down-"

As Cana explained to me, I looked up and saw how the Super Giant began to combust in certain areas of its structure. Not soon after, it's, er neck exploded, and it's head fell off. The other mages cheered, which quickly died down as they started to fight the phantom soldiers again.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Cana asked again. I saw her eyes widen and then I smiled a bit. I guess the healing mechanism was starting to kick in.

"Yeah, I can see by your eyes that the wounds are closing on their own again aren't they?" I asked, laughing a bit.

She nodded, saying, "But it was almost like, you regenerated your skin back, the wounds they're just disappearing, being covered by a lay of new skin."

"It's a healing ability that all mages of my magic have, but it comes more naturally to me than others," I replied. "We can talk about it later."

She nodded again, and went back to using her card magic to electrify the phantom soldiers. I sat back, holding my left arm, covering the glow of my mark. I was surprised that wasn't what she was staring at, it's practically calling attention to itself. I looked down at my legs, my black jeans ripped, and watched as the giant gash on my right leg closed up. It wasn't as gross as the thought of 'wounds closing up' sounded like. Mainly, my skin, the part that wasn't scratched or bruised, kind of glazed over the injury. It looked almost transparent, but then more layers cam, until the injury was gone completely.

Usually this process happened more quickly, but since I wasn't really willing it to happen, it was the first time I had actually seen what happened to my body as it healed. I felt that the process was slow because of my head. It wasn't exactly in the right at the place it should've been. I felt like I'd been stoned, except I've never done drugs before, and I'm pretty sure you're supposed feel numb and hallucinating talking underwear or something. Damn it…it really shouldn't have been that bad, but then again I've never been hit in the head before. When it happened to my brother (and trust me it happened often) he didn't seemed phased by at it, or at least for very long.

Suddenly I felt something in my heart. Or rather, I heard something. Okay I heard and felt something. A body er, person was missing. That person's supposed to be here…lying down…they're injured…Erza. Where's Erza? I looked over in the erection where I had lain her body and she was gone. All that was left was the slimy snake saliva covered treasure box which was wrapped in my jacket. I looked down at my arm again, and saw it was no longer glowing. I also saw how all my wounds were gone, like nothing happened. I slumped over till I was laying on my side, then turned over again until I was on my stomach. I wanted to get up, I needed to. Something was wrong, someone new is moving.

I forced myself up and walked slowly walked toward where the box lay. But Rogue beat me to it, snatching it up with his tail and handing it to me. I shook my head and pushed it away because that wasn't what I needed. I kept walking toward a wooded area, until I reached the edge of the small patch of forest where the guild formerly stood. I walked out onto the edge, and and got down on my hands and knees. I pressed my palms into the earth and willed the dull ache in my knees away as I concentrated. Erza was moving, I could tell that, but where was she? I closed my eyes and imagined every body of every member in Fairy Tail.

Of course, that wasn't exactly true. I couldn't exactly distinguish every person, but they each came out like well defined bodies in my head. In my head, the bodies were a silver like color and they all had red beating hearts inside of them. Each heart beat to a different time, a different rhythm, so it was easy to pick people off one by one. But Erza wasn't anywhere on my side or the side of land with the other members. But then I realized. She went to go help defeat the giant. But it's destroyed so what's she still moving around f- I stopped. Something was happening to her body, almost like someone or some magic was crushing it from the outside.

The pain in her body was very real and I felt her heart strain before its rapid beating began to slow. No. She wasn't dead…she was giving up. whomever she was fighting was actually going to kill her. I don't know how to get into the giant, especially now that's slowly collapsing. And when I got there, what would I do? How would find Erza, and if I did, wouldn't it be too late? I listened for her heart beat again and there was a sudden swirling of the clouds and clap of thunder. It's going to start raining?

As I looked up at the dark clouds, Erza's heart beat stopped for a quick moment, like someone had surprised her. But whatever it was, had caused her heart beat to beat normally again and she started to move. This thing, I was sure it was a person, there a warmness to its form. Then the body began to shape. The person was small…tiny in fact. And they were very powerful…it was Makarov. Somehow he had recovered this quickly and gotten to the giant. Now that I think of it, he could've used the swirling dark clouds as a distraction to conceal his return. As I realized Makarov had been the one to startle Erza, I felt this overwhelming amount of magic energy. Half of it was coming Makarov which was warm and bright, but the other half was dark and cold like death. He's fighting Jose. It all makes sense now.

Erza went to go help defeat the giant but in the process got entangled with Jose. They fought even though her body was weak from trying to stop the blast from the Jupiter cannon. Jose had Erza and she was about to give up and let him kill her, but that's when Makarov came in. Now Erza's moving, and by moving, I mean _leaving_. She's trying to get out of the crossfire of a fight between two powerful wizards. As Erza moved, more bodies that were oblivious to me because of the long distance, had now began to take shape in my mind. I recognized Elfman immediately, his tall stature and thick build noticeable along with a large heart to pump blood to it.

Then I realized Mira was there too, (so that's where she ran off to) her small body next to her brother's. Unlike Elfman, Mira was sitting down, for all the other bodies besides Erza's had previously been unconscious. Mira started to move slowly as her brother guided her to a place to leave, which is what I'm guessing. The next person…was Gray. I knew it was him immediately because unlike the others, Gray's heart was pumping blue blood. It glowed red and blue though as it beat. I know his blood isn't blue, it just looks that way to me as I use my powers. They all left as Makarov and Jose prepared to fight.

The air was thick and heavy with the magic energy of the two wizards, and I wonder if anyone else had felt it too. The two energies, good and evil, stood still for a moment or two, and then, they clashed.

The sky became black with clouds, and thunder clapped so loud it sounded like Jupiter going off over and over again. Lighting flashed blinding some people for a few seconds. The earth shook, unbalancing me and my connection to the now fallen giant was broken. I tried to run, but the earth was shaking so violently, I only fell over multiple times. The giant itself, was being hit with large crashing waves, and the magic energy caused a water dome to conceal it.

But as the two energies clashed, the dome would break, spraying water everywhere. It was like a storm was brewing, and we were all waiting for it to just blow over. Makarov and Jose clashed over and over again, shaking the ground, blowing very strong winds, and causing waves to lick the edge of the cliff. Eventually, they had held their magic, pressing and pushing them together until one of them gave up and was blown away by the other's magic. Instead however there was a big ball of white light surrounded by a purple ring, and then it exploded.

It never seemed to end. There was another ball of white light, and I heard a shout come from the giant which was being damaged severely. The thick heavy air of magic energy may have been gone, but the presence of Makarov and Jose's magic hadn't left. There were more explosions, each taking a hit from one another, but they were mostly caused by Makarov. I could feel his magic in the air, and it's presence grow stronger, and felt Jose's start to dwindle. But then something changed. Jose seemed to have gathered up all his magic energy to use in one single blow against Makarov, who seemed to have been doing the same.

Jose's magic immediately disappeared as Makarov's just got stronger. The dark clouds had opened up to reveal a golden light that was shining through the biggest magic circle I had seen, even bigger than the one the giant was trying to create. Makarov's magic was so strong, I had to steady myself on the ground from feeling it. It was so bright, like looking directly at the sun without the burning sensation, that I had to scream for Rogue, who immediately curled around my body to protect my eyes. He tucked his head inside too, so that his eyes wouldn't be damaged as well.

_"Mistress,"_ Rogue whispered, _"The phantom soldiers are disappearing. That light doesn't seem to hurt the others either."_

"I don't care," I said between clenched teeth. "If I damage my eyes, I'll lose that power you taught me." At those words, he squeezed even tighter around me, and we waited until it was over.

XxXxxXxxxXXXxx

As I emerged from my little resting spot, I heard cheering, as the castle guild of Phantom Lord, slumped down into the sea, the head of the giant completely blown off. I stood next to Cana and Macao and every other Fairy Tail member. I saw Erza looking like she never felt any better, and Mira and Elfman hugging each other in a sibling embrace. I saw Gray too, standing with his back straight, his torso, concealed by the wrappings he wore. They all stood at the front, covered in bruises, where I had wanted to be, but I decided to stay in the background for now.

I saw Happy carrying Lucy in the sky overhead, and I realized, where's Natsu? At the moment it didn't matter when I saw the person who I wanted to see at the moment emerge from the hole which used to be where the Super mage Giant's head used to be.

Makarov stood on top of Phantom Lord's guild, proud of defeating Jose, but also proud of us, his guild. The only thing he'd said to us from when he frusta came was," We are victorious, but I had very little to do with it. This victory is yours my children!" At that everyone cheered loudly, so loud all of Magnolia could hear us, and I think I heard some of it cheer with us too. Nowall we had to do was, patch ourselves up, rebuild the guildhall, and everything will be alright. But first a drink….

_A few weeks later…._

I was stuck either at home or at the guild helping rebuild it. Or supervising, I don't build things. Or as Rogue puts it, _Sitting on your ass and distracting people from working by talking to them_. Oh that snake can have such an attitude! If I was at home, I would sit around and drink to calm my nerves and have a reason to pass out. If I was at the guild I was talking to Mira who as Rogue puts it _actually supervising_. Before I started doing that, I had to help patch up people and play nurse for about three days. At first it was tiresome just using regular balms and salves to help people heal. But then I thought it'd be faster and easier if I just used my magic a bit and healed them faster.

Eventually a rumor had gone around the guild that I was a healer mage which I quickly shot down. Barely anyone knew what exactly my magic was, so anything magical I actually did was a real treat.

Our happy moments didn't last long. One day the Rune Knights, the Magical Councils army, had shown up, where we were put through extensive questioning. At first I had refused. My family had some run ins with the Magical Council before, and if they found out I was here I was certain they would take me away. However, Makarov assured me that no matter what my father had done, I wouldn't be punished for his actions. But it were my actions that I was worried about. I was questioned anyway, and frankly, after learning I hadn't fought in the long run, I was cast aside. Thank God.

Finally, after it was all over, we went back to building. Rogue was probably the only one who criticized me about not helping but what could I do? I'm not exacty adept at making things, and I'm pretty sure all I'm good at is being a serving girl and give out drinks like Mira does. Unlike my brother thought, no one groped me. The drinks weren't alcoholic. Wouldn't want someone to nail their hand (or anything else) into a floorboard.

I mainly hung around where my friends were working and chatted with them. Those people consisted of Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy if she ever decided to show up. I only came because Rogue wanted to help rebuild the guild. Don't ask me where this sudden act of charity's coming from, Rogue's never wanted to do anything this big for anyone other than me. He would pick up heavy loads of wood and walk them over to where people would use them. At first he was using his tongue, but I told him to stop because people were getting a bit grossed out from all the slobber on them. Now he mainly follows Natsu, who picks up lots of wood at once, so that when he drops them Rogue can just pick them up and bring them over to where they belong.

Sometimes Rogue would complain about the idiocy of my friends, mostly about Gray and Natsu's constant bickering, but eventually it was as entertaining and funny to him as it was to me. Whenever Gray walked past me, he would fake accidentally trying to smack me in the head with some of the wood. I would either duck or fake getting angry at him, but it was all in good fun. However, wherever Gray was, if I was near him, I had this eerie feeling that someone was watching him. But whenever I turned around, who ever was watching, was gone.

When it was time for a break, Rogue slithered over to me so he could get the lunch I..prepared for him. Well, he did it himself I just wrapped it up. It was a dead rabbit, wrapped in a sausage casing wrapped in a paper bag. The sausage casing dripped with blood because Rogue has a….preference for how he eats his kill. If he kills it and eats it right away, he swallows it whole. If he kills it but eats it later, I have to..skin it. So basically, I have to carry around a bloody skinned rabbit around until it's time for lunch. I quickly took it out of its bag and threw it in the air where Rogue immediately caught it and swallowed it. At first he wanted me to hold it out for him, but I didn't want anyone to think I was some pyscho path.

After thoroughly washing the rabbit blood off my hands, I sat down on some extra wood and took out my lunch. I had gone down to a fast food place earlier and brought a burger and some fries. The minute I took a bite and sighed with satisfaction, I was surrounded. Gray was holding this oozing pink bento and Natsu and Happy had their tongues hanging out like dogs.

"Someone sounds like they're having a good lunch," Gray said, eyeing my lunch and then his bento.

"Yeah," Natsu agreed, "Think you can spare some fries?"

"You could probably have some of Gray's bento," I said. "Looks like he has more than enough to go around."

"Eew, no one wants that," Happy grimaced. "It's his face made of vegetables and what is that oozing out of it?"

"Besides Erza kinda ate half of his face anyway," Natsu said. "And I don't want to catch whatever disease Frostbite here might have-" Before he could finish his sentence, Gray knocked him upside his head.

"First of all, it isn't all that bad, secondly, I don't have any diseases that you might have Flame Brain."

"Ok then why are you asking me about my lunch?" I asked as I took another bite.

"Well…Natsu and I forgot our lunch and we were wondering if you'd share?" Happy asked. "I don't want to eat the rest of Gray's face."

I rolled my eyes playfully and handed over my fries. "Here, but you have to share."

They shouted with joy as they began to split up the fries. Meanwhile, I was still wondering why Gray was still eyeing my food.

"Can I help you?" I asked. "You seem to be fine and well with that conceited bento of yours. Didn't know you were so talented."

He smirked at me, shaking his head. "Hey I may be artist, but I wouldn't be able to make my own face out of veggies. And I'm here, 'cause I want some of that burger of yours."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You want _this_ burger?" I took a big juicy bite out of it, looking him in the eye.

"Yes," he begged. "You got that from the place on Alcove ave right? Should've thought of it myself. Luckily, this bento magically made itself known to me."

"Hmm well I'll make a deal with you," I said. "You can get a big bite of this burger if I can have some of your bento."

He shrugged. "Erza already ate half, so might as well share if it means getting a delicious burger."

I held the burger up for him to take, but instead he grabbed my wrist, bent down his head, and took a big bite. When he lifted up, he had some of the meat juices dribbling down his chin. I had to urge to wipe it off with my thumb. Gray then took his fork, and held it up, and before he could pass it over to me, I bit the food right off the fork. The food was pretty good. Whoever made it was trying to impress Gray and I guess it was working if I liked it.

"So what do you call this?" He asked. "A lunch date?"

I almost choked at the word _date_ but then I actually thought about it. "Friends can go on lunch dates, so yeah I guess you could call it that. Though, this wasn't exactly planned, we're just casually having lunch together."

Gray nodded as he leaned back against a raised wall and sighed contently. "I haven't even finished my food, but I'm beat. Want the rest?"

I shook my head saying, "That burger was very filling, if I even look at food I feel like I'll turn green."

He laughed saying, "I don't get how you're tired. You just come here, serve tired workers drinks, and chat along with people all day."

"Hey don't forget, in the beginning I was healing peoples wounds. I'm just not…a construction kind of girl. Sorry, not strong enough," I teased.

He chuckled, getting up from his seat. He lifted his arms and stretched, flexing that amazing body of his. "Well I gotta get back to work," he said. "Don't over work yourself doing nothing."

I smiled. "Don't worry I'll try not to." I watched as he picked up some bags of cement mix and went to where it was needed. When I was sure I was out of his sight, I leaned back and sighed. I thought back to our, exchange of lunch and I think I felt myself blush. Did we just.._sexualize_ lunch? Oh my god we did. We had to have somewhat been flirting by eating out of each other's hands. Ever since we hung out at the bar for what seemed like the first and last time, the air between us is..different. At first he made it clear that he didn't do anything like _that_ with fellow guild mates. But now…I'm not so sure.

XxXxXXXXXxxxxx

Ever since my little interaction with Gray, things between just get more and more…weird. Since that day, we always have lunch together, and he's _always_ eating my lunch! I'm forced to buy an extra burger so that he can have one of his own, so that he doesn't eat mine. I mean come on, just because I don't exactly work doesn't mean I don't deserve to eat. He hasn't been getting any more of those bentos now that I think about it. They stopped coming few days ago and that's when he started to literally eat out of my hand until I brought him lunch.

It wasn't all that bad. I mean, everyone one else in Fairy Tail is close with each other, so there's nothing wrong with wanting to become better friends with Gray right? And I do have other people to be friends with, but Gray's just around more. We have had a few drinks together, (at the new guild site of course) and he really isn't all that bad of a guy. I think about how cold he was to me when we went to Galuna island, but now he's very friendly. More than friendly I should say.

I know I'm attractive and I know that people stare, but it's weird when you catch the _same_ person _every time_. Since it was getting warmer, I would mostly wear breezy button down shirts that I almost always tied to expose my stomach, or a tank top. I'd always wear these with a pair of short shorts and a cropped leather jacket. Anyway, I have a tendency to feel when people are staring at me, whether it's appreciating my gorgeous looks, or trying to bore holes into the back of my head, I can definitely feel it. When Gray stares at me whenever I'm not looking, I feel shivers run down my back in the most delicious of ways. For some reason though, instead of scolding him and calling him a pervert, I would smirk and wink at him. We were definitely flirting.

Whenever I looked into Gray's eyes, his beautiful dark blue eyes, I'd feel little electric shocks throughout my body. The shocks for some reason, felt cold, but then a soothing warmth would fill my body. I wondered if it were some kind of special spell Gray learned to do with his eyes. I mean, the first time I'd seen them I felt this sudden presence of control.

After working on rebuilding the guild for a day, (or in my case, _watching_ others rebuild the guild) Gray and I would sometimes walk home. It wasn't awkward or anything like that. Instead of feeling compelled to flirt with him, and slowly seducing him, I felt like I was just hanging out with one of my guy friends. Which is what I liked about Gray. He never made me feel like a scary mage he was terrified of or a sexy woman he couldn't keep his hands away from. In a way I felt…liked. As a friend of course.

_A Few Weeks Later…._

I had just finished slipping into my leather skirt that was about 7 inches from my knees. With it, I wore red studded pumps, and a shoulder-less black drop top with sleeves. It had actually been a simple long sleeve black top that I didn't just want to toss, so I had redesigned it. I basically cut the part of the shirt that covered my stomach, making a kind of arch in the front instead of the back so that the lower part of my back wasn't so exposed. When I cut it, i made it looked a bit frayed at the ends. To give it my own personal touch, I sprayed painted the anarchy sign with red fabric spray paint. As it dried, it kind of dripped a bit giving it that punk look that I liked. For my earrings I wore three sets in my ears. The bottom set were a pair of ruby studs, the second a simple pair of small silver hoop earrings, and for the third another set of silver hoops but these had a snake design.

Out of all the chokers and necklaces that I had, I chose the one with the flower made out of rubies, connected to three chains, making it dangle a few millimeters. I made sure my hair was neat as I grabbed my cropped leather jacket, a wad of cash, and dashed out the door.

I'd heard of this new nightclub called _The Black Rose_. According to my sources (i.e Rogue slithering around listening to other people's conversations) it was an underground bar turned nightclub. It was still underground of course, but it clearly wasn't that much of a secret. According to Rogue, it used to be this low popularity bar with all this space to expand with, so the new owner took it upon himself to make it into a nightclub to bring in more money. The older, Irish theme was replaced with the modern theme of most of the nightclubs now. It's supposedly hidden underneath a wizard's tavern, and it stays underground for a reason. If you walk right through the bar and try to head down the secret tunnel that leads to the lug, the bodyguards at the door will refuse to let you in.

Apparently you're letting people know there's something going on in the back, and the owner of _The Black Rose_ likes the thought of his club being a secret, some kind of advertising strategy. However, if you walk around the wizard's tavern and go through the back entrance, the guards step aside and you can go right in.

As expected, the guard in front of the door stepped aside to let me through the door down the secret tunnel. Before I left however, he stopped me and gave me a rose. A black rose. I was confused, is he flirting with me?

"This is your first time here right?" he asked. I nodded. "I knew it, never seen you around here before. Anyway, all first-timers are given a black rose to show to the bartender. It's so you can get a discount on your drinks."

I smiled. "Wow that's really great. But don't tell me, it only works once right?"

He nodded saying, "That's correct. It only works for the first time you visit us. But the minute you leave, the rose shrivels up and dies, and you can never get another. The boss uses it as a marketing strategy to get more customers."

"I can see what he means. If people heard that there was a club that discounted drinks on your first visit there, then it would become popular," I said before heading through the door.

"Hope to see you around here more often beautiful,"he winked as I headed down the stairs.

The tunnel that lead to _The Black Rose_ was lit up and covered with magical red glow in the dark arrows that led the way through the tunnel. There was another set of stairs, and once I got up them, I began to laugh. This ridiculous tunnel led to the other side of Fiore. I was in the southern region, so now when I think about it, this place is only underground to every other region in Fiore. _The Black Rose_ was no secret in this part of town. If I didn't want to take the tunnel route, I'd have to walk or find some other way to get here. The tunnel, was magically enchanted to make the length of a walk from northern Magnolia to Southern Magnolia seem quicker than it would be on the surface.

I saw a glowing red sign that read _The Black Rose_ the 'o' in rose replaced with a rose. I showed the bodyguard my black rose, and he gave me a small smile before letting me in. The minute I stepped in, I was in awe. There was a bar, no _two _bars, both made entirely out of glass. The glass shelves were lined with every brand of liquor I could think of, and the glass counters were being wiped down by cute bar tenders. The bars were so big, that both of them were occupied by three bar tenders. They could of easily seated about 15 people each, so the bars were making money every second. Between them was a huge dance floor which appeared to be made of pure obsidian, but then lit up with amazing flourishes of color. There must of been hundreds of different sequences for the patterns created on the floor.

There were two giant columns that were must've been made of pure white marble, encircled by single rose vines. Around these columns were small tables that seated two people. If you were here on a date, you would go here and just order drinks from the waitresses that flitted around once in awhile. In order to make sure those who were sitting and those who were dancing wouldn't clash, the tables were kind of off level with the bars and the dance floor. If you wanted to get up and dance or for some reason, sit at the bar, you had to walk up three stairs. I saw that there was another room to enter, with the word _Lounge_ glowing in neon green, but the music was vibrating in my chest, and I remembered that I was just standing there.

I walked over to the left side of the bar, and sat right in the middle of the station of one the bar tenders. He was cute with golden blond hair, brown eyes, a firm jaw, and from what I saw with the uniform he was wearing, a nice strong chest. He wore a black tie vest over…well nothing. He was wearing pants of course, but everything else was for my eyes to to see. Clearly there were female bar tenders here too, and they were wearing a kind of feminine version of what their male counter parts wore. The girls wore either a black or white vest (same with with guys) with tight leather black shorts and black heels (which I had to lean over the bar to see). Their vests were short and the top two or three buttons were unbuttoned to expose a black or white bra, which was part of their costume. It was sexy and yet not too slutty.

After serving someone a seat away from me, my blond bartender immediately began to give me attention.

"And just what can I get you?" he asked, his voice immediately becoming sultry.

Before he could say anything else to me, I lifted the black rose out of my sleeve and winked at him. "This is my first time here, _pretty boy_," I purred, "so maybe you can serve me whatever you think would be best for a girl like me."

He smirked and turned around, grabbing bottles and mixtures left and right off of the shelves behind him. Before long, the was a glass in front of me containing a pink liquid, a slice of lime wedged onto the rim. I took a sip and inwardly moaned with delight.

"What is this?" I asked him, taking another sip.

"Passion Fruit daiquiri, a favorite among the ladies," he said, winking at me. "You seem to be a girl of passion, figured it'd be the best thing for you to drink on your first night here."

"You're very right pretty boy, passion is my middle name," I said, sipping more, glancing at him over the rim.

"The name's Andre," he said, "but pretty boy's a new one. As long as you're asking, these'll keep coming beautiful."

"My name's Raphael by the way, and you will_ definitely_ be seeing more of me tonight."

"Stay for the club's _Midnight Enchantment_ and trust me, you'll remember this for the rest of your life." He leaned in at that moment, tilting my chin up a bit and whispered, "And maybe a little after, I could take you home with me."

It wouldn't be the first time a bar tender flirted with me, or even the first time one came on to me. But he was very direct, and something inside me liked that. He would definitely be a candidate in who would take me home with them tonight.

"Very direct," I whispered back, "but you'll have to try a little harder than that to get me with you Andre." On that last note, I bit the lobe of his ear. When I leaned back his face was covered with a blush I had never seen on a man. I giggled and drank my daiquiri. A few hours later, I was pretty drunk. Half the drinks I drank I didn't even have to pay for. I had another five of those daiquiris from Andre and a mixture of other drinks from other men. When a man sends you a drink, that means he wants you to come over and interact with him. He wants to see if some conversation, a few drinks, and possible dancing could lead to you two going back to his place.

I had green apple martinis, a variety of margaritas, a whole bottle of delicious cabernet, and some hard vodka. The guys who sent me margaritas, didn't stand a chance. The one with the martinis seemed to have done this whole charade a few times, but didn't seem to into it. It was pretty obvious an older, richer guy had sent the red wine. Half the guys here had brought a girl with them or were looking for one, and they definitely did not have enough money to impress a girl by this. I polished off the whole bottle with him, and even danced with him. Well grinding, if you count the fact that we're in a nightclub. The other guy who sent the hard vodka wasn't even trying to hit on me! He was actually just being funny, and I had a really great time with him too.

XxxxxXxXXXXX

The minute the clock struck midnight, many people in the club began cheering, raising their glasses as they did. I had sat back in my bar stool, sipping another one of Andre's daiquiri's and proceeded to follow them. Suddenly, the walls began to light up with colors of the rainbow, except the effect was that the colors were oozing off the walls onto the floor. As this happened, the dance floor took on the same effect, until the whole place was lit up with color. The glass bars, appeared to be covered in some sort of glitter, but it didn't rub off. The music changed to this hypnotic sound, that practically commanded others to get up and grind. Midnight Enchantment indeed.

Andre smirked at me, signaling that this was what he meant when he'd mentioned it earlier. All the servers screamed "Welcome to _The Black Rose_'s _Midnight Enchantment_!" causing everyone to cheer again in response. I was pretty sure this _Midnight Enchantment_ used a whole lot of magic effect and lacrimal, so it must've only lasted an hour. I didn't really have anywhere to be at midnight, and I was already drunk so why not enjoy the fun hmm? Ok well, I wasn't that drunk, I learned how to hold my alcohol and all, but I wasn't a heavy drinker. I could probably go about 3 or 4 more drinks before I was _drunk_ drunk.

I hopped off my bar stool and disappeared into the crowd. Once that happened, the hypnotic music had me in its grasp, and like everyone else, I was bumping and grinding until I felt I would drop. At first I was kind of dancing alone, but soon, some guy came behind me and grabbed my hips, pulling me against him to dance. I didn't freak out of course, this usually happened at most nightclubs. I shook my hips from side to side, and he moved his hips along with mine, grinding into my backside. Eventually he left, and I switched dance partners after almost every song.

Someone would either pull me towards them from the front or back, and we'd dance together. If he pulled me towards him from the front, I'd wrap my arms around his neck and grind my pelvis into his, almost like having sex with your clothes on. If he pulled me from the back, he'd start grinding first, and I'd feel this mega erection poking my ass, the usual reaction to grinding. I move my hips from side to side, and go in a kind of curvy zig zag, up and down, up and down. Eventually I was dancing so much, and like everyone else I was so drunk, that I wasn't really paying attention to who I was dancing with. For me, guys just saw a pretty face whose hips they could their hands on for awhile. Other than that we didn't even know each others names.

About thirty minutes into _Enchantment_, I sat back down and had a frozen passion fruit daiquiri. This one I wouldn't be able to sip as easily, and I watched on as dancers started getting..hotter on the dance floor. I mean seriously, this one couple was practically having sex in the corner, and I don't know if it was my drunkenness or not, but I think they really were. One girl was being grinded on from the front and back, though I think the guy in the front was her boyfriend, considering they were making out. I think he was so drunk, he didn't even feel the hands that were on top of his holding his girlfriend's hips as well. I burst out laughing as this girl tried to straddle this guy and then grind on him from there. It was so funny because, when she ran and jumped onto the guy, he didn't exactly catch her right and they fell. How could I not laugh.

One way or another, I ended up playing a bunch of classic drinking games with this random group of guys. At first I wasn't the only girl, but because I was the only girl actually into the game, the others left. It was easier to play beer pong with shot glasses than martini glasses, and doing shots every time a girl gave out her number was fun too. in conclusion, there were a lot of shots. We did body shots after, and I had to keep myself from laughing or else the vodka would spill on my stomach since I was laying down on a table. One of the guys even said he'd lick it off if that happened! Unfortunately for him, it did not, and my stomach was saved from being licked by a stranger. Well, it's not like it'd be the first time.

I decided to go back to dancing in the last fifteen minutes of _Enchantment_. Since I was pretty drunk, I knew I'd probably be stumbling through the tunnel back, if I was even going home alone. However, though I was pretty drunk, I think I looked pretty damn hot when I started to dance again. I started to twist my hips, dragging my arms up and down my body. Immediately I found a partner, his breath hot on my neck. When his hands gripped my hips, I felt small electric shocks, but I was too drunk drunk to recognize it. His grip on my hips was firm as he guided my hips to twist this way and that. I raised my arms to wrap them around his neck backwards, and his hands trailed down from my shoulders to my hips and suggestively down to my thighs.

I could hear his heart thumping against my back as loud as the base in the music that was moving us. He took my hands down from around his neck, and held them as he guided them to glide down my body, even pressing them inside my thigh. This guy….he was really turning me on. As one of his hands gripped my hip, the other ran up and down my side, sometimes even going as far as caressing the inside of my thigh. I shivered at the feeling of his hand on my skin, making me feel all warm inside. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to turn around and see the face of the man who could get me so hot with just my clothes on.

I turned around, simultaneously wrapping my arms around his neck, ready to lean in and kiss him. However, when I turned around, I felt my heart stop for at least 10 seconds. My face was a few centimeters from, and my arms were wrapped around the neck of one Gray Fullbuster. His eyes were wide were shock like mine were, but his hands were still gripping my hips, pressing my pelvis to his. Being intoxicated had blurred my senses, I couldn't remember that the little cold shocks I felt were _always_ from Gray. I wasn't able to read his heartbeat as well as I would've been (thanks to Mr. passion fruit daiquiri) so I couldn't detect it was him.

I gave a small yelp before jumping back, looking around to make sure no one noticed. "I thought you were on vacation!" I shouted over the music. "What happened?"

Before answering, Gray took my arm and led me down the steps to the little individual tables. "We came back a bit early," he said sitting down.

I looked at him, puzzled by his tone, so he continued. "We met up with a few of Erza's old, um….friends, and after running around with them for awhile, we came back to Magnolia. We may have left on the same day, but I think Erza stayed back a bit to say goodbye to her friends."

"Still doesn't explain what you're doing here," I said. "I mean, usually when people travel, when they get home they rest."

He smirked before saying, "Well I'm the kind of guy that needs to keep his body moving. I can't just sit around, I need to move."

I rolled my eyes before saying, "So um…did you know it was me? You're not as drunk as I am, you can't be _that_ stupid."

"Thanks for the confidence in my intelligence," he drawled. "Of course I didn't know it was you. You look so..so.." his voice trailed off, as he looked at me, taking my appearance in.

"So beautiful? Sexy? Divine? Gorgeous?" I finished for him. "There are many words to describe how I look Gray, you just have to pick one."

He groaned before saying, "Fine. To be honest, I thought you were looking pretty sexy while you were dancing, and I wanted to get a chance to grind with you like everyone else had. But, you disappeared for awhile, and well, I took my chance okay?"

I realized on my own that I was practically eating up every word he said about me. _About me_. "Well um, you're pretty..no _very_ good at grinding. Never thought I'd get the chance to see you do that," I said after clearing my head. "So, you visit here often?"

He nodded, telling me he'd been here a dozen times, and of all those times he'd only ever seen other members here once. "I'm surprised I never saw your mark," he said. "I forgot where you keep it, it's on your neck right?"

I nodded, lifting up my hair to expose my choker if he hadn't already seen it. "You can just barely see the bottom tip of the mark," I said. "I don't wear these kind on jobs, because it's easier to lift my hair than making a big deal out of taking it off."

"Our bodies were so close, I'm pretty sure my face was very close to your neck. If it wasn't covered with that lovely choker might I add, I would've known it was you in an instant."

Remembering how close we were forced me to stutter out a small "Y-yeah". I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or my body, but I started to feel light headed.

I wasn't even listening to Gray when I heard him say , "-won't change anything between us right?" Wait, when exactly was there anything between us?

He laughed as he could tell that I wasn't paying attention so he said, "Hey, this won't change anything between us right?"

I thought about it before saying, "Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. Honestly, that was the best dance of my life, and I'm never going to forget it or pretend it never happened. We're closer now Gray."

He blushed at my words, so I quickly said, "Not like that! But now we have a bit more in common than before, so we're closer as friends."

He started to laugh, and then I laughed with him. _Midnight Enchantment_ had been long over, and it was 2:30 am. Andre told me this place closed at 3, so Gray and I decided to leave. We'd been talking for awhile, he told me about Akane Resort, and how the real reason Erza stayed back was to spend some alone time with one of her friends. I never thought she'd be so..risky. After the shock that Gray and I had intimately danced with me and evidently turned us both on (though neither of us mentioned it), my buzz was gone. We had a few drinks as we talked, but it never came back. I'm kind of glad though, because it'd be easier to pay attention to Gray when he talked. Wait what? Why the hell does it even matter? Why should I hang on his every word like some groupie, or love sick maniac?

Eventually we'd made it back to the wharf, near my apartment. I was so tired I knew I would sleep for a day. Buzzed or not, that hangover would be coming and I wanted it to pass in my dreams. We said goodbye, and before he could walk away, I pulled Gray into a hug. It was awkward at first, but hey his naughty parts were rubbing against mine, so a hug is more than appropriate right now. As we hugged however, I could of sworn there was another presence somewhere….someone watching. I wanted to use my powers to try and see where they were, but I decided to shrug it off for now.

Before I left into the apartment building, Gray pulled my arm and said, "I know you're probably not going to go out tomorrow, er, for the rest of the day (it was 3:15 am) but i want you to meet me back here on Sunday at dawn. I have something for you." I nodded, too tired to give an answer. He smiled at me, waved goodbye, and left to his own apartment

XXXXXxxxXxXxX

I pulled off my skirt, and stepped out of my pumps, and at that moment realized my feet were killing me. I was too exhausted to put on my pajamas, so I unhooked my bra and slipped out of it, all while at the same time keeping on my crop top. I crawled under the comforter, humming at the warmth that engulfed me. I peeked open my eyes to see Rogue asleep by my night stand, and before I knew it, sleep over took my body, and I blacked out.

**Hey guys! Just as a small note, Some of the arcs in Fairy Tail are too long for me to write about, and since it's my story (and as I said before) I'm going to gradually stop using the main plots of Fairy Tail. Here are the list of arcs I will NOT be using:**

**Tower Of Heaven Arc: It's pretty clear I had skipped that whole thing.  
**

**Edolas Arc: I thought about making an alternate Raphael, but knowing that they use magical weapons means Edo Raphael wouldn't be able to use an Edo Rogue because that would mean he had magic in his body which is not true in Edolas. I also felt this Arc was too long to add Raphael into.**

**Tenrou Island Arc: I'm currently watching these episodes, and it's too long for me to shorten to include Raphael. Plus, I won't be having a 7 year gap, because then my story would be ruined entirely.**

**Basically, certain arcs will only be used based on how they'll effect Raphael and her powers, whether or not it's too long, if she could be useful in the fight, or more rather, relevant. It'd be white annoying to keep adding Raphael in all the arcs because there would be no romance at all.**

**Also, hey I gave you a little romance! Weren't they so hot dancing together? Anyway, if you have any ideas, that are **_**relevant**_** with the story, then please, put them in your review or PM me!  
**


	13. Rivals in Love: Part 1

*FLASHBACK*

_He brought her into his room as they kissed, their lips locked in eternal battle with one another. He sat down on his bed, holding her in his lap as they kissed, her arms wrapped around his neck. She had never gone so far with a boy, much less gone into his bedroom with him. But this is Aaron we were talking about, and the feeling she got when they kissed, well Raphael was sure she was in love. He slowly laid her down on the bed, and he crawled on top of her, causing her to whimper when their lips finally parted. They stared into each other's eyes, both clouded with love and lust. Aaron began to kiss her again, but he started with the shell of her ears, nipping the lobe. This caused her to moan, and she moaned even more when he began to leave a trail of kisses on her neck._

_Aaron's hands had found their way under her shirt again, and this time Raphael didn't flinch or freeze. She felt warm and safe in his arms, knowing that he wouldn't hurt her. His scratchy palm lay on the smooth skin of her stomach. He wanted to touch her body more, but he didn't want to scare her, so he went slowly. His hand slipped down and tugged up her t-shirt, which had been dry ever since she got out of the rain. He had slipped it up all the way to expose her bra before Raphael lifted up and took it off herself. The lights may have been off in his room, but the lighting illuminated her perfect upper body to him, making him hunger for the whole thing. Aaron stared at Raphael's pink lacy strapless bra, something he thought he'd never imagined she owned. He kissed down her neck again, onto her collar bone, and finally the tops of her breasts._

_Raphael was completely helpless under the sweet touches and caresses of Aaron. She had never experienced these feelings before, and frankly, they overwhelmed her. No man had never seen her in her underwear before, not since she was a little kid. She wasn't completely exposed him yet though, because her pants were still on. She moaned as Aaron kissed the tops of her breasts, knowing how good it felt. He did it again and she moaned a bit louder. One of his hands came up and massaged her breast, as the other slowly went down to her pants. She felt her nipples harden under her bra, and she felt warmth slowly pool between her legs. This new feeling, the warmth, made her crave even more of it. She unconsciously lifted up a bit as Aaron unhooked her bra, exposing her breasts to him._

_"They're so pretty," he breathed, staring at her creamy breasts and little pink nipples that stood erect because of him, causing her to blush and look away. He immediately began to lavish them with attention, still holding back a majority of his lust, but letting go some of it. He flicked his tongue over one nipple, watching for her reaction, and as he expected, she moaned. He did it again, this time giving it a long hard lick, making her cry out, her fingers twisting themselves into his hair. He began to suck on it as his other hand left the top of her jeans to play with her other breast. Aaron twisted and teased her other nipple, massaging her breast as he did. He then switched actions, sucking on the other, and twisting the one he had licked before._

_This caused Raphael to feel the warmth that pooled between her legs to become even more gratifying. She liked the way he touched and licked her breasts, and the pol of warmth between her legs slowly turned into wetness. She knew exactly what would happen next. He would pull off her jeans and then her underwear and then he would…enter her. She knew it would hurt, because most girls had said that their first time had hurt. Her heart beat with anticipation, wanting to give him the gift of her virginity. But she was also scared. Would he enjoy it? If he didn't would he still love me? Or would it had all been a lie? She shook her head slightly, trying to get those thoughts out of her head. Aaron would never do that to her, her brother would never keep company, much less be best friends with a person like that._

_As she thought these thoughts, she had realized that her jeans __were__ being taken off. And she let it happen. Again, in Aaron's arms se wasn't afraid, knowing he wouldn't harm her purposely. Once her jeans were taken off, they were discarded, and she lay there, the only thing covering her were her pink panties, and soon those would be gone too. Lightning flashed as the rain pounded harder onto the window, and she saw Aaron's lust clouded eyes. He wanted her, and badly. _

_He lifted up to take in her body more and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold back on the sight before him. He kissed her nipples, making her moan louder as he kissed a line down her stomach all the way to the top of her panties. He then lifted up her foot, and kissed a line all the way down from her ankles to her inner thigh. Aaron wanted to lavish her wonderful body, and before gazing upon her precious womanhood he wanted to caress her to let her know how he really did love her. However, before they could start, they had noticed something. The whole time Aaron had not shed not one article of clothing. _

_Smiling to himself he took off his shirt, exposing his well toned torso to him. She couldn't help but reach up and rub his chest, starting from his pecs all the way down to his stomach. Immediately he guided her hands to his zipper, and she pulled it down along with his pants, exposing the erection that poked through his boxers. Raphael looked at it wide eyed, having never seen one before. She reached to pull down his boxers, but he stopped her, shaking his head. "Not yet," he whispered into her ear._

_They continued from where they were before he had undressed, and during that time Raphael had let her legs rest on the bed. His hands went to her knees and began to part them, but before he had spread her all the way he whispered, "Are you sure you want to do this? After this we can't go back." She nodded in response, completely (well not exactly) open to his desire for her. He smiled at down at her before parting her legs and looking at the little piece of clothing that posed as a barrier from him going inside her. He noticed the little wet spot that was already on her underwear, and he smirked._

_Slowly, he began to pull down her underwear, and as he did her body was slowly covered n a light pink blush. He leaned in to kiss her neck again, trying to relax her. She was very nervous, whispering a small, "Don't look," into the darkness, though the very thought of him looking upon her nakedness made her grow even wetter. He raised his head to nuzzle her cheek, assuring her that he would not hurt her._

_"I have to," he whispered back. "I have to make sure you're well prepared before entering you." As he said this, he had slipped off her panties, and they hung off of one of her ankles. She closed her eyes tight as he spread her once more, and gazed upon her beautiful womanhood. She opened one eye and as she did, she stared at his face as looked upon her body with appreciation. He looked at her slick wet folds and how they glistened with her arousal, open for the first time, and just for him. Oh, how he so badly wanted to take her over and over again. But knowing she was a virgin, he knew he'd have to take it slow. After that, he could have her all to himself._

_"It's so cute and pink down here," he murmurs as he kissed her neck, making her blush._

_Without warning his finger went to touch one her down there, just a small stroke, and she cried out louder than she had the entire time. So she was very sensitive there was she? He stroked her again, listening to the adorable mewls she tried to muffle. He kept just rubbing her after awhile, knowing damn well she was wet and ready. But he didn't want to rush into taking her just yet. Aaron wanted to make her scream his name. _

_He pulled her hand away from her mouth, hot breath on her ear saying, "Raphael, you know full and well that I live alone, so the only person that can hear you screaming like that is me. Don't hide the delicious sounds you're making, it's a huge turn on." He kissed her again this time, slipping his tongue into her mouth as he rubbed her. While he did, she moaned into his mouth, and he grinned, knowing that she had complied with his demands. _

_Originally, yes, she had been scared someone might hear her, even though she did know that he lived alone. She made vey loud sounds, and she thought they were sounded dirty coming out of her mouth. But now, knowing that they turned him on, it gave her more confidence, so she moaned again, as they kissed, vibrating the inside of his mouth._

_He pulled away after awhile whispering, "Now Raphael, I'm going to do something that'll help you feel good ok? Please, try not to resist." He slipped a finger inside of her, causing her to shout loudly. He moved the finger inside of her, listening to her dirty little moans, playing her like a piano. Before long, he had slipped in another finger, stretching her sweet tight hole, the feeling of clenching around his fingers, sending pleasure waves to his growing erection. _

_The sensations Aaron had sent through her body…oh how wonderful they were! Without hesitation she moaned, unable to contain the sounds within her. She felt herself grow more and more wet, and she wanted more of him. When his thumb flexed upward and stroked her clit, she felt electricity run throughout her entire body. She arched her back as she did, and she moaned for him to do it again. When he did, Aaron did it for longer, and she felt so good. There was something building up inside of her, and she wanted to let it all out. _

_Aaron could feel her orgasm building just by the clenching of her walls around his fingers. This seemed to be an entirely knew sensation on her body. Had she never maturated before? When thumbed her lit, she had reacted like no other girl he'd been with before. Unlike the other virgins he'd been with, she had never tried to act like she'd had sex before or that manual masturbation was something she'd done before. The fact that she had basically never engaged in something sexual before is what made her even more desirable to him, because that would mean he would be able to show her the ways of love and sex. _

_Before she could climax, Aaron slowly pulled his fingers out from her, resulting in a disappointing whimper from Raphael. "Now my love," he whispered, "you are very prepared to be penetrated. Are you ready?" The question wasn't bout if she was ready physically because she definitely was, but rather, it was whether or not if she was ready mentally. Was she prepared to give away her virginity to him? Was she sure that this was the right choice? Was she being too hasty? She answered all these question sin her head before she nodded._

_Aaron, only clad in plaid boxers, pulled them and released his hard 8 inch erection to her. She was immediately intrigued by the male sex organ, and how it stood hard and erect pointing right at her. There was something glistening on the tip (which she later learned was pre-cum) and she reached out and rubbed it, getting it on her thumb. Aaron bit his lip as she touched him, her hands exploring the hard organ that would soon be inside of her. _

_When she finally stopped, Aaron gathered his composure and leaned in as he began to enter her. He had gotten the tip in first, but he was then met with resistance. Before he moved any further, he grabbed her hand so she squeeze it, kissing her deeply as he whispered against her lips, "I can't promise it won't hurt, but I will try to make it so that it won't hurt as much. I would never hurt you Raphael, I love you." She nodded as she kissed him back, and she squeezed his hand tightly as he pushed into her slowly taking her virginity._

_Once he was inside, he waited for her to adjust to him before he began moving. After some time, she began to moan and mewl, calling his name from time to time. Raphael started to move her hips with each of his thrusts, and he moaned along with her, the feeling of her warm tightness incredible for her. She felt the same sensation she had felt before when Aaron had fingered her. Except she had gotten the 'more' she'd wanted before, especially when he reached down to thumb her clit._

_Soon, they were both close to orgasming, and they cried out each other's names as they came together. The entire time, their fingers were intertwined as they held hands, another form of embrace. Aaron pulled out, shooting his load in between her legs, not wanting to impregnate her. They didn't lay completely naked against each other, Aaron reaching over to put back on his boxers, and Raphael slipping her panties up which had miraculously stayed on her ankle. After that they lay there in each other's arms, completely aware of only each other. Aaron's was turned slightly, his arm draped over Raphael's chest as she laid on her back, though soon after she turned to face him._

_"Why'd you do that?" she asked quietly._

_"You mean pull out?" he asked. "You don't want to lose your virginity __and__ get pregnant do you?"_

_"No I don't. I wasn't thinking about that at the time. It's my first time remember?"_

_"You were incredible," he said, kissing her forehead._

_"Was I really? I've never experience anything but a kiss from a boy," she answered back. After awhile she said, "I'm glad you took my virginity."_

_"I am too," he replied. "You have a beautifully blessed body Raphael, and knowing that I'm the first man to touch it that way makes my heart sing with joy. I'm in love with you."_

_"Do you think we rushed it?" she asked him. "I mean, we, well technically you, confessed our love, start making out, and have sex, all in the same night?"_

_"We didn't have sex," he said, "we made love. And honestly, I do feel maybe we could've waited a bit more, but I think because of the emotions of today, we just felt that we needed to..connect."_

_She nodded in agreement, tracing circles into his skin. "So…are we official now?" she asked._

_He nodded, "Yes we are. We love each other, and after what just happened I'd have to say that we're official." He pulled her closer towards him._

_"Does that mean we live with each other too?" _

_"Yup, but now that you say it, I wonder how we're going to explain it to the guys."_

_She thought about it for a second before saying." We can come up with an explanation for living with you, but let's keep our relationship a secret for now."_

_He raised an eyebrow at her. "What say something like, you're living here because your brother abandoned you and so I'm stepping in his place until he comes back? Ok then, as long as I get to kiss you when we're alone."_

_She had frozen when her brother was mentioned her mind and body occupied by..other things at the time. "Don't talk about that right now, you'll ruin the mood. I'm hoping he'll come back one day, I always will, but until then I have you and our friends and that's all I'll need."_

_He hugged her tightly saying, "Sorry. It's still a fresh wound when your brother just leaves like that."_

_She snuggled into his chest, his arms encircling her. Soon, exhaustion from their activities soon caught up to them, and they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, the sound of the rain lulling them to sleep. The only evidence of their activities was the small patch of blood on the sheets._

*END FLASHBACK*

XxXXXxxxxXXXxxx

Of course when I sleep deeply for a day to avoid having a hangover, I dream about Aaron, much less about the night I lost my virginity to him. My theory is that, because the expectation of sex was high last night, but I didn't get it, I got to dream about it. Lucky me. Why'd it have to be about that night anyway? Why couldn't I have had a sex dream about all the other guys I've been with? My memories, whether I like them or not, have a way of creeping into my dreams from time to time.

I laid there in my bed for ten minutes before actually getting up. My mouth tasted like booze, so I went to go brush my teeth and take a nice cleansing shower. AFter that I just sat around my apartment, eating, drinking, reading, and evidently taking small power naps. Eventually I had nothing to actually do, so I went to make myself dinner. Yes, I actually know to cook, big deal. Rogue makes fun of me about it all the time, saying that with the way I act, he's surprised the things I cooked aren't burnt, or worse, inedible.

I stood over the stove, moving the pot stickers around so that they would cook well. I had also made fried rice along with it, so I had to check on that to make sure the rice didn't burn and stick to the inside of the pot. I've only let it happen once, and I always make sure to never let it happen again.

Rogue slithered up next to me, and his tongue quickly darted into the pot of rice.

"Hey don't do that!" I shouted. "I don't want my rice slathered in snake saliva got it?"

_"It wouldn't be slathered,"_ he retorted, _"besides you know I prefer my meat hunted down and raw. I just took a piece of pork that's all."_

"Well alright. I'm almost done anyway, the rice takes a bit long, but at least I only have to stand here for only a little bit."

After a couple minutes, I poured some rice on my plate along with the dozen pot stickers I'd made. I had a small packet of soy sauce and poured that on the side next to my pot stickers. Even though I had my own kitchen with a table and chairs to eat, I never ate there. What's the point if I'm just going to be sitting there eating alone? So instead of sitting at my kitchen table, I moved outside onto my terrace. There I could eat my food and take in the scene around me. In other words, I resorted to people watching.

The sunset looked pretty as people retired for the day and went home. Some people were in groups others were couples, or little old ladies bringing groceries home to their stubborn old husbands. Across the water I caught a glimpse of blue, and saw Happy flitting around Natsu and Lucy's heads as they walked home. I could hear Lucy shouting something at whatever dumb thing Natsu was doing, and I couldn't help but laugh. Those two fight like brother and sister sometimes. They fight like I used to with Ezekiel. Immediately, I became saddened at the thought of my brother. The anniversary of his disappearance would be coming up soon. And so was the anniversary of my father's death….

_"Why the long face?"_ I heard Rogue ask.

"It's almost that time of year again," I whispered, looking down at my plate.

_"Oh…what are you going to do this year?" _ he asked.

"Dunno," I answered. "Maybe I'll take a job and get so caught up in it that I'll forget it."

_"Do you really want to forget it though? Mistress, if you forget your past you'll forget who you are. Everything happens for a reason, and they have shaped you into the woman you are. Now let's discuss something else, say, why you came home the other night, smelling faintly of man?"_

"You know I went out clubbing the other night Rogue," I began as I told him the story of _The Black Rose_. He hissed at my stories of the dancers and the guys who flirted with me. I watched as his eyes lit up when I told him about _Midnight Enchantment_. However, when I got to the part about when I was dancing with Gray, I stopped.

"Now before I tell you whose scent it was on my skin, you absolutely _cannot_ yell at me about it, understand?" I told him. He nodded his head quickly, eager to hear who it was.

"Ok, so I'm winding and grinding against this guy and when I turn around to kiss him I see that it turns out to be…_Gray_."

_"Gray? You mean the guy who's addicted to stripping? Was he naked?"_ he asked.

"No he wasn't naked," I laughed, "but he was just as surprised as I was. We talked for a bit before the place closed, and he walked me home. He has something for me, so I'm meeting him at the wharf at dawn."

_"Mistress it's a trap!"_ Rogue exclaimed before wrapping himself around me. _"He's going to try and do something weird to you, seduce you probably, and take you away from me!"_ His tail started to pat and stroke my head like my brother would when his friends would flirt with me in front of him. I found it extremely cute hen Rogue did it.

"Aww don't worry Rogue," I said stroking his head. "Gray and I have very clear understanding where we stand." He made it clear he didn't want to screw me anyway, so why change his mind now? And the whole club thing…people dance with their friends all the time right? It's not really that big of a deal. But then, why the hell am I justifying this? We weren't dancing like friends, we were dancing like two bar patrons who were about to go home and fuck each other. Gray made it _very _clear he doesn't want to get involved in a relationship with me, or any other female guild member for that matter. So even if we did dance like horny animals, it was because of alcohol and misunderstanding.

Eventually, I spent the next few hours on my terrace, reading outside because the cool night air felt nice on skin. After some time, I began dozing off even though I had spent the last 10 hours sleeping. I shrugged as I changed into my pajamas, and restrained myself from having a nightcap. I didn't want Gray to think I was an alcoholic or something.

XxxXXXXxxx

I woke early at around 5:30 am. Dawn was at exactly 6 am so I had thirty minutes to put on some clothes and walk down to the wharf to meet Gray. I wonder what exactly he has for me? I moved quickly, taking a very quick shower, a _cold_ shower, and then later on throwing on some clothes, not really paying attention to what I was throwing on.

I took my time walking to the wharf, since I knew I'd get there first. It was obvious Gray lived near here, but not very close. I was glad that it was a bit cooler in the morning, groaning inwardly at the feeling of brisk air on my skin. I sat on the bench, and waited for sunrise. It was still a bit dark outside, but the light from the rising sun, revealed clouds in the sky, creating a beautiful array of colors. Hmm, no wonder Gray comes here to draw, it's very pretty and serene.

About 10 minutes after I arrived, I saw Gray jogging up from a distance. He was carrying something too. Not his usual thick sketchbook, but a square box, with wrapping paper on it. OS this is what he had for me. When he finally came to view he stopped, panting from running so far from wherever he lives. As soon as he caught his breath, he sat down, placing the box in between us.

"Uh, what is that?" I asked. I held up the box, which was wrapped in blue wrapping paper tied with a purple bow.

"Just open it," he said, leaning his head back against the bench, his arms resting on top of them. I did as he said, pulling the ribbon, and opening the box. There was no hiding the smile on my face.

Inside the box was a teddy bear wearing an _I Love Akane!_ shirt, its shoulders draped in one of my leather jackets. It was too adorable.

"Aw, this is so cute!" I cooed, holding up the teddy bear putting my jacket aside.

"Guess you forgot you lost your jacket so Makarov told me to get it back to you," he said, sitting up. "The teddy bear was a souvenir, since I'm pretty sure you've never been to Akane."

Hmm, must've forgotten it when I abandoned it next to our old crumbling guild hall…crap. Oh well, I have it now.

"Thank you Gray, this was very sweet of you," I said. When I picked up my jacket to put it and the bear back in the box, I noticed a small piece of paper in one of the pockets.

I picked it up and it read:

_Thank you for keeping these documents safe for me Raphael. You know I'll need them in the future for when you brats mess up again. God knows it'll happen in due time. I would also like to thank you for preserving the letters between your father and I. You can't deny you read them, he may have been my friend, but Kenta was your father so you have more right to read those letters than anyone. Well, here's your jacket, you left it on the ground, could've been destroyed._

_-Makarov_

I smiled to myself as I stuffed the note into the pocket of my shorts.

"What's got you smiling?" Gray asked after a few moments.

"Oh, I'm just really happy I got my jacket back," I said quickly. He didn't need to know about my connection to Makarov, not just yet anyway. "I'm also happy about the bear you got me," I added.

His face lit up with a smile when I said that. When he smiled, the sun started to rise, so it looked like his smiling was glowing. "Hey, what are you going to do for the harvest festival?" he asked. "You know, for the Fantasia Parade?"

"Uh, I'm not participating in that," I said cooly. "I have no way whatsoever in avowing my magical abilities which are far from…_parade like_ as you know. Ask Lucy, she'll tell you."

"Come on," he cooed, "don't be like that. There are lost of wizards in our guild who can't exactly sow off their magic without hurting someone."

I smirked. "Ok then what exactly could I do?"

"You could do a little snake charmer dance-" but he didn't finish his sentence when I punched his arm.

"That has got to be the most cliche thing I've ever heard! Do you know how many people have asked me if that's what I really was?"

He rubbed his arm moaning slightly. "_Everyone_ in Fairy Tail participates in the _Fantasia_ Parade, so no matter what you're doing, you're going to be in it. "

"Am not," I retorted, sounding like a little kid. "I'll just watch you guys like everyone else is, I'm just fine with that. Even if I was in it, doesn't Makarov tell you like a month ahead beforehand? The festival's in a week you know."

"So he hasn't told you anything? I bet the minute you walk in the guild, he's going to tell you what you're doing for the festival."

I thought about it for a minute when he said that. It's not that I have stage fright or anything. I just want to see the parade for myself. I remember this amazingly colorful parade that lit up the night whenever we would attend the harvest festival if we were nearby. Sometimes we'd only be able to enjoy the night festivities because my family would get here so late, but I found the night more interesting than the day.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't exactly..mind," I said. "WIth the way you talk, it sounds kinda fun. And as you know very well, I can dance."

He blushed slightly at my words, making me smirk a bit more. "Y-Yeah well, you obviously won't be dancing like that. There'll be kids there Raphael."

"I was just kidding," I laughed, "besides dance lessons won't be that hard, I've taken them before."

"Really?" he asked, almost awed. "You? Took dance lessons?"

I put a finger to my lips saying, "I'm not saying another word ice boy." I stood up and stretched, not have done my morning stretches in awhile. Gray stretched himself too, though he stayed sun was up in the sky by now, but since it was early morning still it hadn't been too bright yet.

"So you gonna come to the guild today?" Gray asked me. "You've had your 12 hour hang over hibernation, so you might as well start work up again."

I nodded saying," Yeah I might visit today, though I don't think I'll be taking any jobs. Maybe after the festival since, from what you're saying Makarov puts so much pressure to be in attendance during it."

"Speaking of which," Gray said. "We ah, have ourselves some new members. Now what I'm about to say, you have to promise me you won't freak out about it got it?"

I nodded.

"Juvia Lockser and Gajeel Redfox," Gray said. "They're ex-Phantom Lord members."

"So they're in our guild now huh?" I said quietly. "Better not fuck up their second chance at redemption."

Gray blinked before saying, "That's it? You're not about to blow up about how they attacked our guild or kidnapped Lucy or any of that?"

I shrugged. "All that stuff is for people like Makarov to hold as a grudge against them. Besides, I wasn't really much in the fight, I can only hold so many grudges anyway."

"Oh thank god," he sighed with relief. "I was told that along with delivering your jacket, I had to deliver that message since you still hadn't known about it. Most people are still a bit weary about letting them join, but I think it'll be easy for you guys to make friends since you used to be new."

"Hey don't go thinking that I'll be leading the tour of Fairy Tail just because they're new like me," I replied. "They know how guilds work, so the only thing they'll need to gain from me is my trust."

We talked some more a bit after that, this time it was mostly about drawing. He'd forgotten his sketch book so he couldn't show me anything, but he talked about how sitting here on the bench would be the perfect scenery in another one of his sketches. When I imagined the drawing, I thought it was so pretty, all the reds, pinks and oranges blending together as the sun rose.

"And to make it better," he stated, "there'd be a cute mage in it too."

"Who?" I asked playfully, "Me?"

"Well duh," he drawled, flicking my forehead. "You're the only one who appreciates the beauty of this place, even though it's just a simple wharf. Who better than to be my model?"

I blushed lightly, trying to make it not so obvious that I was a bit touched that he thought of me that way.

"It's 7:30 now," he said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I don't know about you but I'm going to go back home and go to bed. They'll be setting up for the Harvest Fest soon anyway, and I guess the Master expects us to be there once the festival actually starts." He stood up, getting ready to go.

"Alright well I'll see you later then?" I aced, standing up as well.

"Yup, and I'll be laughing my ass off when you have to be in the _Fantasia_ Parade," he said smirking. Then he pulled me into his arms. Ironically, it felt warm in between Gray's arms. I could smell the faint scent of vanilla on his skin..wait, his skin?

"Uh Gray," I said, as I began to pull away.

"Yeah?"

"Next time you hug me can you make sure to have your shirt on?" I asked laughing.

"What th- Aw man not again!" he whined, upset that his stripper tendencies got the best of him. Then he left, jogging back, grumbling about his stripper tendencies.

Once he was far away enough I called out, "You can come out now. I've known you were here since Gray arrived."

As soon as I said, this a woman with blue hair came out from behind one of the buildings. She had pale pale skin and dark blue eyes and she wore a blue and white sleeveless mock neck dress with a matching blue and white hat and white elbow length gloves with black and white boots. I read her facial expressions as upset and angry but I didn't care about that. I wanted to know why she'd been watching us.

"Why are you stalking me?" I asked outright, anger rising in my voice.

"Juvia is not stalking you," she said, "Juvia is simply keeping an eye on Gray." Oh god, wasn't Gray just talking about her?

"Gray? What the hell are you watching Gray for?"

"Juvia doesn't believe that's any of your business, woman who is close with Gray," she replied, ice on the tip of her tongue.

"Then it's none of your business what Gray does," I retorted.

"Gray is Juvia's undying love, her future husband.." she trailed off into what I believed was her twisted fantasy about her relationship with Gray. "Everything he does is Juvia's business."

Delusional weirdo. "Fine then. But everything he does with _me_ is none of your business whatsoever."

Her pale skin turn three shades of red. "Wh-What does Gray do with you?"

The minutes she blushed, I knew she was thinking dirty. "None of that, none of that at all! I don't like being watched, so if you can kindly stalk Gray when he's not around me, I'd appreciate it."

"Juvia is not stalking Gray- I'm sorry, but I don't know your name. What is it again?"

"Raphael Aisuru, Morphomagus Blood mage of Fairy Tail," I drawled, giving her my full title.

"What is your relationship with Gray? Why did he give you a souvenir when he was in Akane with Juvia? How come you two meet up so early in the morning?" Jeez, let's just play 20 Questions speed round why don't we.

"Gray and I are..well I guess now after a misunderstanding we're close friends. I wouldn't know why he didn't get you a souvenir, maybe because since you were in Akane he thought you'd get yourself one. We meet here because..well that's really none of your business," I answered quickly. I wasn't about to give that stalker Gray's personal habits or something.

After calculating all that I'd said, Juvia shouted, "Raphael Aisuru you are officially Juvia's rival in love! Prepare to lose Gray to Juvia's warm love!" And with that she literally dispersed into water and disappeared. As I walked back home, I took the note out of my jacket pocket again. I'd read it over three times until I noticed something on the back.

_P.S. You're in the __Fantasia__ parade, there'll be no discussion about it. I want you to be become more popular despite your use of magic. Maybe you could do some snake charming dance?_

_-Makarov_

Fuck.

XxxxXXXXXxxxXxX

After my..strange and uncomfortable encounter with Juvia, I made my way back home. I flopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Gray has a stalker named Juvia, who is an ex-member of the now disbanded Phantom lord guild, and is convinced that for some reason he's in lobe with her. Unrequited love. I doubt Gray would ever fall for her, what with knowing she's watching him constantly. And what the hell was up with the whole speaking in third person shit? Does she think it's cute or something, because it's not, she sounds like a little kid.

I took the _Akane_ teddy bear out of it's box, and placed on the table and stared at it. What did she mean by rival in love? Does she think…that I like Gray? When I think about it, I am attracted to him, because he's so damn hot. But I don't think that I want him, you know as my own, or like boyfriend or girlfriend. We made it clear in Hargeon harbor that we weren't interested in sleeping with each other, let alone anything more than that. However, after dancing with him, albeit grinding, just remembering it gives my body shivers. But it's just a sexual feeling right? We haven't known each other long enough to even have developed feelings yet. Wait _yet_? There is no _yet_. We barely know personal things about each other. He knows I travel a lot and I know he likes to draw. That's all. As I told Juvia, we're just close friends, nothing more.

I realized that I was trying to convince the teddy bear of my relationship with Gray. My mutual, platonic relationship with him. Now that I think about it, I wonder why I refused to tell Juvia about our meeting spot. No one else but Rogue knew about it, so maybe I'd always wanted it to be kept secret. But now Juvia knows where it is, but she doesn't know why. I always thought it was because it was a place we both frequently went, whether we were drawing, thinking, or even napping. Oh wait, I think I know why now. It's because Gray is the only person who knows about the Twilight hour, the one time everything is equal and balanced, before light engulfs darkness and then darkness engulfs light.

"_Mistress you've returned!_" Rogue exclaimed, knocking me out of my thoughts. "_You really should make a habit of announcing yourself though._"

"Oh, hey Rogue," I said, sitting up on the couch. "Look at what Gray got me." I held up the teddy bear and my jacket.

"_He got you a teddy bear? Oh Mistress are you sure he's not in love with you? Or maybe it's the fact that you danced provocatively together!_"

I laughed saying, "I'm sure. He couldn't have gotten it after we danced, because that was two days ago. Maybe he was just thinking of me and wanted to get me something." After hearing myself say, _maybe he was just thinking of me_ I quickly added, "Like a good friend would."

My little slip up did not go unnoticed by Rogue. "_Mistress, is there something the matter? What are you hiding? You know I don't even have to ask._"

I gasped. "I thought you said you couldn't read my thoughts any more!" As we became closer, Rogue had told me he was able to read my thoughts, which I felt was a major invasion of my privacy.

"_I said I __refuse__ to read your thoughts anymore. Ever since you lost your virginity, you thought the most perverted things. I couldn't take it anymore. But we are connected, and hiding anything from me is futile."_

I sighed and told him about my encounter with Juvia. "She said we were rivals in love and that we would have to fight for Gray's love or something like that," I said once I finished. "And now, I'm rethinking everything about Gray."

"_I haven't even met this girl and I already dislike her,_" Rogue hissed.

"You dislike everyone who doesn't like me."

"_That may be true, but now it's possible for me to dislike people I haven't even met. I want to scare the shit out of her now."_ Wow. Rogue rarely curses. "_The fact that she has you rethinking your whole relationship with Gray, just means she has you unnerved. You need to play her at her own game._"

I didn't want to ask what that meant because I knew damn well what it meant. Rogue had no idea how I felt about Gray, and frankly neither did I. Thinking about it now, if I did "lose" to Juvia when it came to Gray's feelings, I do feel a little crushed. We wouldn't be able to talk as casually anymore, and if I met with him secretly anywhere, we'd both look bad. I knew Gray didn't want to be with anyone involved with the guild, so what did I have to worry about?

"Whatever," I said getting up. "We need to get ready to go to the guild already. I need to get fitted for my costume, and learn my dance lessons."

Rogue gave me a quizzical look so then I said, "We're in the _Fantasia_ Parade, and you and I are doing a snake charmer dance. It's apparently mandatory for all members, and since you have a stamp that means you."

"_No! I don't want to perform. I'm not some mindless animal, I'm a ruthless magical being! Look at my fangs!_" he opened his mouth wide to give his best scary hiss while bearing his fangs.

"You think I want to do this too?" I asked. "Hell no, but we have to no matter what we want. Now let's get moving."

I hadn't been back to the guild since it was fully completed. Now it's three stories high made of dark colored bricks with a large arch that read _Fairy Tail_ at the top. The entire guild is surrounded by a fence made out of stone. Once you enter the fence, there's an open air cafe in the front with about a dozen or so tables with umbrellas. To the left of the guild is a small gift shop run by this guy named Max Alors. He's very nice and pretty enthusiastic which is what gets his sales running, but now that there's a gift shop, I don't get any extra money on the side from what the bar makes. I was a bit bitter about that, but then again, I hadn't been watching over Natsu and Lucy like I was supposed to.

Anyway, once you actually enter the guild, the first floor looks pretty much the same. It is however, larger and more spaced out with more tables and benches, and even a stage. The bar is larger too, and still located in the same place, same as the request board. The second floor is still for S-Class wizards, but now anyone can go up there and take a request, as long as an S-class wizard escorts them. When I think about it now, I don't even care about becoming S-class anymore, I wasn't really serious about it anyway. Finally, there's a game room in the basement and even an indoor swimming pool. The game room I was a bit excited about, because it gets a bit boring watching card games, but watching magical pool was even more fun. The swimming pool I felt was a bit too much, I mean I think it was just created because we had a little extra money on the , at least there'll be a place for me to cool off when it starts to get really hot outside.

Immediately, I spotted Gray a few tables away, but then I saw Makarov as well. As I approached him, I saw that he was introducing someone. A female someone. Juvia. The whole entire time Makarov talked, Juvia could do nothing but stare intently at Gray. Creepy. I waited until they all disappeared except Makarov, who was going up for a drink when I stopped him.

"Hey Makarov,"I greeted.

"Oh Raphael! Long time no see. So did Gray deliver my message successfully? Maybe even encourage you to change your mind?" he asked, grinning at me like a cat.

"I thought about it actually, and since I'm not really doing anything except hanging out, I _guess_ I have time to practice a routine and be part of the festival," I said, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal. I hadn't been thinking about being in the festival or not, I was thinking about my feelings towards Gray.

"That's wonderful!" Makarov cried excitedly. "So do you know what you want to do? Any ideas specifically?"

"Well since I wasn't really planning on it myself, I don't have any really extravagant ideas, and since my magic is..well you know, a bit _frightening_, I was going to do that snake charmer routine with Rogue that you suggested."

He clapped his hands happily like a little kid. "Fantastic! Be back here tomorrow in the early hours so that those of you participating can get fitted for your costumes, and learn your routines for next week."

"Hold on? Those of us _participating_? I thought everyone in Fairy Tail did the _Fantasia_ Parade."

"Haha well, certain members have grown out of performing for Magnolia, and so they help in other ways, though they don't perform." Fuck. I'm not a constructive girl, so I couldn't work with my hands. Dammit.

Well, at least I won't have to think about Juvia..or Gray.

**Did you guys honestly think that there wouldn't be a love conflict? Juvia talks about having a rival in love, but does she actually really have one? Cat fights here we come! And also, did you like my virginity scene? It was my first one actually (haha) so I hope I did well! Remember to review to your hearts content and if you want MORE, well give me more reviews. I can't threaten to update slower because I have too much time on my hands not to be writing so expect frequent updates**


	14. Rivals in Love: Part 2

It's interesting how a week can fly by with dance lessons, costume measurements, and many, many rehearsals for the parade. I felt like I would collapse any moment it was so exhausting. But however, it did help me keep my mind off of what Juvia had said to me the day we had met._ What's your relationship with Gray?_ It was such a simple answer when she'd first asked me. But when I actually sat down and thought about it, I realized that my feelings for Gray were too complicated to define. I wasn't interested in him romantically because 1) I promised I wouldn't do that with any guild member and 2) We don't know much about each other to even be thinking about romance.

I find myself lying awake at night and thinking about everything that I'd gone through with Gray. The way our eyes connected when we first met. How easy it was to talk to him, even if I barely let him in on the details of my life. When he used his magic to shield us both during the fight with Phantom Lord. Sharing our lunch. Walking home together. Having the occasional drink together at the guild. Grinding with each other accidentally. The _Akane_ bear. Whenever I think about that bear, I automatically think about how Juvia was at _Akane_ as well. And then I think about how she was the one who'd messed me up in the first place. Speaking of Juvia, I find myself clenching my fists when I think about what happened when I went to go get fitted by Mira for my costume.

*FLASHBACK, One Week Ago*

_I went into the Fairy Tail building early in the morning, so about 9:00. Mira was waiting back stage in the dressing area for fittings. I maneuvered around the tables onto the stage and disappeared around the corner. Apparently, fittings were literally backstage because girls were stepping in and out of their clothes and basically standing in their underwear in a line to be fitted. No way in hell was I doing that. It's not like there were any costumes to actually try on, so I guess that's all they could do. Other girls who weren't standing in the panty line stood against the back of the curtain and waited and chatted about what they were doing for the parade._

_I took off my shoes and my jacket and walked around. The cool wooden floor felt good on my feet as I made my way to where my friends were. Lucy, Cana, Bisca, and Levy were all talking about what they were doing for the parade. All 4 of them had been chosen to be on the same float and do a cheerleading/dance routine. _

_"Our costumes are going to be so cute!" Lucy squealed. "I wish we could be trying them on now instead of being measured for them."_

_"Erza's lucky," Bisca replied, "all she has to do is rehearse her routine, she doesn't even have to be fitted."_

_This intrigued me. "Why is that?"_

_"Didn't you know?" Levy asked. "Not only can she requip into powerful armor, Erza can requip into regular everyday clothes or any outfit for that matter. She doesn't have to take time out of her day getting fitted or even changing into clothes for that matter."_

_I laughed awkwardly. "Oh right. I don't know her that well so I guess I really wouldn't know haha."_

_Cana shrugged. "It's no big deal. Anyway, what are you going to be doing for the parade Raphael? Not only is it Lucy's first year but it's yours too."_

_"It's a bit cliche," I replied. _

_"Oh come on you can tell us, we're all friends here," Levy coaxed._

_"Fine, fine. I have to do a…" I murmured the last part._

_"Didn't quite catch that," Bisca said. _

_"Snake charmer dance," I pouted. "It's completely and utterly embarrassing. I don't even know how to charm snakes, I don't want people to think that's what I do!" _

_"So don't tell me, Rogue is going to be the snake you're 'charming'? "Lucy asked. She was one of the only people of the guild who knew what my magic could really do._

_I nodded solemnly._

_"Well don't start frowning!" Levy cried. "I'm sure your dance will be much better than ours, and your costume will be very unique."_

_Cana nodded saying, "It's really nothing to be embarrassed about, trust me. I bet you'll get to wear a genie costume, you know, show some skin."_

_"Everyone'll be showing skin," I replied, feeling a bit better. "But the dance, is a bit complicated. The person teaching it to me showed it to me before teaching me a few steps, but instead of a snake she used a silk scarf."_

_"Can we see it?" Lucy asked, giving me her brightest brown eyes look._

_I stood up, dusting off my pants. "Sure, but it's a bit hard if you don't have an actual snake."_

_I began the dance, in which I couldn't go full out because there wasn't enough space unless I wanted to kick everyone there. Again, the dance was harder to do both with and without a snake. Throughout the dance I'm doing both. Without Rogue we're (well mostly me) dancing around each other, my feet moving rapidly on and off the ground and my hips twisting this way and that. With Rogue however the dance was different in its entirety. I had to morph Rogue from his usual size to a smaller size constantly, and in doing so do a few gymnastics tricks. That I did not do, because again, there wasn't enough space. After I had finished, there was an applause an even a small whooping sound._

_"That was beautiful!" Lucy exclaimed. "You looked so light on your feet, almost like you were flying."_

_"Yeah you made it look so easy than when you described before. I can't wait to see the full thing at rehearsals!" Levy chirped._

_Before she could say anything, Mira called her name, and Bisca stood up to get in a line that was now shorter. As she did, she took off her shirt and slipped out her pants which left very little to the imagination._

_"Come on you guys might as well get in line too," she said, walking around in her very flattering underwear. Cana was already wearing her bikini top (which I doubt matched her panties) so she pulled down her pants and got in line as well. Since it didn't seem to be such a big deal to everyone else, it shouldn't have been one to me. I unbuttoned my blouse and stripped it off, revealing a bright pink bra, and as I pulled down my pants, it revealed matching bright pink panties. I started to walk into the line but then I noticed that neither Lucy nor Levy had stripped down or even got in line._

_"Hey what's wrong?" I asked them._

_"It's just well…" Levy started before looking away._

_"Is it uncomfortable for you to be in your underwear around other girls?"_

_"No it's not that it's just that I…well clearly you can see I'm smaller than most of the girls, and it's kind of embarrassing you know? Having a smaller chest surrounded by women with actual breasts," Levy whispered quietly._

_"Hey it's ok," I said trying to comfort her. "Even girls like me who have an ample amount of breasts get insecure around girls with even bigger breasts. It happens to everyone, and besides, we're your friends here, no one will make fun of you. I'll make sure of it."_

_"O-Ok," she hesitated before taking off her clothes, leaving her headband on as she stood in her polka-dot undies. As soon as this happened, some girls began to compliment Levy on them._

_"See? You look very cute all small like that. You never know, some guys are really into small breasts!" I said laughing. She blushed a bright red as she got in line behind me, practically hidden._

_"So what's your excuse?" I asked Lucy, looking directly at her._

_"Uh, um, I don't wanna strip down in front of you guys!" she cried. _

_"How are you going to get measured then?" I asked. "Besides everyone else here already did it so it's not like you're alone."_

_"I guess that's true, but it feels so awkward!"_

_"Hey, if Gray can strip down to his underwear and walk around in public all day, then we can strip down to our panties too and get measured in the privacy of the guild's backstage." That seemed to get her into it because then Lucy stripped down to a nude colored underwear set and got in line as well. The minute I mentioned Gray, Juvia walked in. I didn't exactly see her, but it became clear who it was when she practically jumped at the sight of us all in our panties._

_"Does Juvia have to strip down too?" she asked timidly._

_"Yes!" most of the girls shouted._

_I didn't turn around to watch her strip because that would've been very creepy. She was in the back of the line and she and Lucy began chatting about Akane island, so I was completely unbothered by her. However, I heard the words 'rival in love' and I froze for a bit. Is she trying to get me to turn around? I stood still, waiting for my turn and resisting the urge to turn around. Fortunately for me, she hadn't been talking to me. Juvia called Lucy her rival in love to fight for Gray's heart. According to Lucy's tone though, it didn't seem to be the first time Juvia had called her that, and so Lucy shrugged her off._

_Finally it was my turn to be measured, and I stepped up to where Mira was sitting in a chair, holding up the body tape measure. To distract me from the awkwardness of a small rope being pressed against my intimate parts, Mira began to talk to me._

_"I saw you dancing earlier," she said. "I can tell you didn't go quite full-out, but it was wonderful none the less. Have you danced before?" She wrapped the tape measure around my breasts, measuring my bust._

_"Yeah, when I was younger my dad enrolled me into dance classes," I replied, remembering the day I was put in a classroom with other girls my age, wearing a frilly pink tutu (cliche I know) and being taught how to spin and leap gracefully. At first I hated it, but dance classes actually taught me how to listen carefully to the rhythm and tempo of heartbeats and breathing. Eventually I learned to love dancing, and it became something I really enjoyed._

_"Wow, no wonder it looked so smooth," she said smiling. After measuring my breasts she wrote down a number and giggled. "Raphael, your breasts are so perky and round!"_

_"Hey not so loud!" I whispered as she measured my waist. I looked behind me to see if anyone had heard, which thankfully no one did. Unfortunately, the girls who were putting their clothes back on, mainly Bisca and Cana, were snickering._

_"It's ok," Mira whispered back. "I made fun of those two as well. Now part your legs a bit so I can measure the length of your torso." I did as she said, and Mira placed the tape right near my bikini line, hoisted it up until it wrapped around my shoulder. _

_"So how's Gray?" she asked, trying to fin the end of the measuring tape. I heard Juvia gasp at the mention of his name, and immediately I knew she was listening in._

_I wasn't about to let Juvia scare me so I decided to answer her. "Blizzard stripper? Same as ever. He's the one who told me about the whole __Fantasia_ _parade thing in the first place_."

_"Oh did he? When? He and Natsu and them didn't get back till the day before. I would've thought he rested after getting back from Akane, though I did see him yesterday afternoon."_

_I thought about telling her about seeing him at the club, but I didn't think the whole female population of the guild needed to know that. "I met up with him early in the morning. He gave me my jacket back and a note from Makarov."_

_"I hear he got you a present from Akane," she said, a small smile itching to grow into a wide grin._

_"Y-Yeah he did," I said, quiet at first but then at normal volume. "It was a teddy bear with an __I Love Akane!__ shirt on it. It was cute."_

_"He bought that for you?" Lucy asked out of nowhere. "Now that I think about it, he did say he was getting a souvenir for someone, or was he just buying it? I don't know I wasn't paying attention."_

_"Oooo!" Mira squealed. "Gray seems to have a crush on you Raphael, you snagged a good one."_

_"Uh, er, I don't know about that…"_

_Suddenly, a voice burst through the light joking as Juvia shouted, "Juvia will fight for Gray's love and snag him __**back**__!" she glared at me as she said this._

_I wasn't about to let her shut me up so I said casually, "Girls, girls. Don't start anything up now, some people get jealous more easily than others." I cut my eyes at Juvia, turning around to look straight at her._

_"Juvia isn't jealous! Juvia gets to be in the parade with Gray. Juvia gets to be his ice-princess." _

_"Well then if you're not jealous than why does it matter if Gray got me a teddy bear? You were in Akane with them right?"_

_"Now that I think about it," Lucy chimed in, "You were there somewhat coincidently Juvia, and you hung around Gray a lot. You had to have known."_

_Instead of answering Lucy, Juvia turned to me. "We are rivals in love! You may have Gray's eye now, but surely Juvia will become the one on Gray's arm!"_

_"Yeah well," I said, pulling on my clothes because Mira had finished with me a long time ago, "you''re reading too much into something that isn't even your fucking business." And with that I left._

*END FLASHBACK*

It didn't matter to me that Juvia had blatantly declared we were both in love with Gray even though I am 100% sure that's not true. At least for me it isn't. Juvia can be in love with Gray and stalk him if she wants. But I don't need to be dragged into a love triangle, when I don't even love Gray. Clearly Juvia has some real insecurity issues, if she goes around and declares a love war with every woman Gray interacts with.

I didn't go back and apologize for what happened that day. I shouldn't have had to. Ever since then, Mira met me at my dance lessons to see what fabrics would work best with my performance, sketching out designs for my actual costume, changing the color or shade, changing the design of any part of the costume. The last major change I remember is that my teacher said I'd need room for my legs since I'd be moving around a lot. Mira would be coming over today for the final touches, i.e accessories, jewelry, anything of the sort.

There was a knock at the door and I knew it was her. When I opened the door, she was hidden behind a mountain of jewelry and catalogs.

"Need some help with that?" I asked as she walked in. Her mountain of items was starting to tip left and right, making me nervous.

"That would nice, yes," she answered. I grabbed the top layer of catalogs, revealing her perfect round face so she could see where she was going. I set the catalogs on the table as she put the rest of the stuff on the floor beside it. Then she sat down on the couch and let out a long sigh from being relieved after carrying those weighty boxes.

"So what've you got for me Mira?" I asked as I plopped down next to her. I opened up the box and pulled out rolled up rugs, the kind you see at markets that they lay jewelry on. I opened it up carefully on the table, and began to look for what I wanted.

"Try to look for something that goes with your costume," she said. "Remember, we're also doing make up, so I brought that along as well."

"Well then there's nothing in this pile," I said, rolling it back up and pulling out another. This process continued, along with looking through catalogs with things that we could order and have by the day of the festival. I found a few things here and there, but most of my accessories would have to have been ordered.

"Wow," I sighed, leaning back on the couch, "after awhile, everything gold just blends together."

Mira nodded saying, "We can take a break if you want. Let's have a mimosa." SHe started to get up, but I put a hand on her shoulder. Mirajane serves people every single day at Fairy Tail, she shouldn't have to come into someone's home and be expected to serve them there too. I got the champagne and orange juice out of the fridge, and mixed the drinks into two plastic cups. I came back, setting down the cups and the bottle of champagne.

"I can give you the name of a few places to order jewelry from if you'd like," I said sipping my drink. Ah, how refreshing orange juice and booze is in the early afternoon.

"Oh that would be great!" she exclaimed. "Your costume is so exotic, so different, it's fun to have a challenging moment when getting ready."

"I don't think you'll need to buy any necklaces though," I replied, "I've got that covered."

"Hmm, ok, there's one thing off my list of things we need for you. You must have your own set of gold bangle bracelets right?"

I nodded saying, "That can be another thing off your list too. Hey you saw those arm bracelets in the catalog right? They would go great with my costume."

"Yeah I know what you mean. We probably won't have to buy you much earrings anyway since your hair will be covering it most of the time when you perform."

"I guess that's true," I answered, "but I'll try to find any kind of earrings that'll go with my costume."

"Wow that makes my list for you really short," she said, finishing off her mimosa. "So what were you thinking for your necklace? Some kind of choker?"

"Yup, probably the same one I wore when I went to the club earlier-" I stopped talking. The choker I was talking about was the same one I wore to the club. The very same choker I wore when I danced with Gray.

"Hey why'd you stop talking?" Mira asked, grinning. "You met someone didn't you? Was he cute? Did he take you home? Come on, I want details."

Dammit. I didn't think she had noticed I stopped. "Well um, you can say that I guess…" I answered meekly.

"You guess? Oh don't tell me, you only made out a little didn't you? It's nothing to be ashamed, some guys fall asleep after getting so drunk-"

"That's not it," I said, cutting her off. Could I really trust Mira with what had happened? Would she tell everyone? Would Juvia find out and try to assassinate me?

"Then what is it Raphael?"

"He didn't take me home," I started, "he _walked_ me home. See, I met up with someone at this underground club, someone I know, someone we both know."

"One of the guild members?" she asked in awe. "You mean one of the guys right?"

I nodded, continuing on with my story. "Um well, we didn't exactly run into each other at first. We kind of…grinded together? And well you see-"

"You dirty danced with one of the guys?" Mira exclaimed. "Didn't he know it was you? Who was it?

"-he didn't know it was me because my choker was covering my guild mark on my neck. It was a huge misunderstanding. We got over it, talked for a few hours, and then he walked me home."

"But you still haven't told me who it was," she said, anticipation and excitement in her voice.

"It was…Gray," I whispered, feeling myself blush lightly.

"What?!" she gasped, practically blown away. "You and Gray?"

"He honestly didn't know, and I was too drunk to tell it was him…you know, rubbing up against me," I said sheepishly.

"Well when you think about it, or at least when I do, I can see Gray grinding up and down against a girl. But wow, no wonder you were so pissed when Juvia kept mentioning him."

"I saw him the next morning. It was the day before Makarov told me about the festival, the same day before I went back to the guild for measurements," I answered.

She turned her body to face mine as she sipped from her now champagne filled cup. "Does anyone besides you two know about this?"

I shook my head. "No, and I like for you to keep it a secret. Other than you and Gray, only Rogue knows about what happened that night, and he couldn't tell anyone even if he wanted to. I don't want Juvia to hound after me."

"That's true," she said softly. "So are you like, in love with Gray? Everyone heard what Juvia said about you two being love rivals for Gray."

"No!" I shouted quickly, startling her a bit. "Juvia approached me spouting all that crap the minute after Gray gave me the souvenir. She's convinced I'm after him when I'm not, and I don't have any proof, but I think I felt her there that night too, right before I walked into my apartment."

"But does Gray feel that way?" she asked. "How do you not know that maybe, Gray might just have a crush on you?"

"We both already made it clear that dating within the guild was a big no-no. Besides, it was an accident, it can't happen again," I said nonchalantly.

"Alright," Mira noted. "Now let's talk about Juvia. I can already sense you two don't really seem to be getting along very well."

"She's a fucking stalker," I cried. "She watches Gray and she knows where I live now. Do you know how creepy it is to have someone you dislike have the ability to just watch you all the time?"

"In a way," she said. "So Juvia dislikes you out of jealousy because you're close with Gray and she's not, correct?"

"Exactly! She's crazy! She's got me questioning things that, the more I question them, the more confused I get!"

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"I mean that…that I felt so lost when she asked me what my feelings for Gray were. You'd think it would be simple since I don't like-like him, but it's not. I've never been confused about how I felt for a guy."

"So, are you attracted to Gray? You know, sexually?"

I gave Mira a look. "The guy walks around in his underwear for God's sake. He's, well I guess the word could be hot. Sexy even. And after what happened that night, yes, I'm pretty sure I'm sexually attracted to Gray."

She thought long and hard before saying, "So here's what you've told me: You've both established that dating between you two or anyone within the guild is bad. You've also established a close friendship ever since we began rebuilding the guild. However, now you yourself are confused because you drunkenly dirty danced with each other, and without knowing who it was, you were sexually aroused by it, and I'm guessing Gray was too. Now, you're sure you're sexually attracted to Gray, and the same probably goes for him. But, now that Juvia's come along, some part of you feels threatened that she may actually take him away from you. So, Raphael, I honestly think that deep down inside, you want Gray."

"I what?" I practically screamed. "You mean like, I want to do him?"

Mira nodded, almost like this was a normal thing. "It happens between close friends sometimes. One of you starts to develop feelings and thoughts that aren't platonic but romantic. It happens a lot, especially in guilds. Some people don't even notice it, not until the other friend starts to feel that way too. In conclusion, you want Gray."

In a way, Mira was right. Her psychological analysis was completely right. Though, I doubt Gray wants to have sex with me. I mean, guys look at you and appreciate your body, even your guy friends do it, but it doesn't mean they want to do you. But I have caught Gray over a dozen times staring at me. Does that mean he's already realized it? That he may want to be more than friends? No matter what, I will make sure this friendship stays just that and that nothing else would come between us. Yes, I will deny whatever "feelings" I have for Gray. None of us are leaving this guild over some little mistake.

"Guess I've already won this little love rivalry then huh?" I joked.

"It would seem so. But nobody knows, maybe not even Gray himself yet. We don't know how far Juvia might take it, so watch out."

"Oh don't worry I will," I said determination in my voice. "If she shows up here for a fight, that's exactly what she'll be getting."

"No Raphael," Mira warned, "fighting amongst guild members may happen a lot inside the guild, but attacking is entirely different. I'll see what I can do, but don't hurt her. You know you really could."

"Fine," I grumbled, "but I'm telling the Master to get her to lay off. I can feel her when she's watching and it creeps the hell out of me."

After a few more hours of plain gossip and then a final review of what we needed to get, Mira left. My bottle of champagne was empty, and the other one I had taken out was half full. I took the bottle and left to go into my room.

"I guess you heard everything, though you failed to make an appearance," I said aloud inside the seemingly empty room. Rogue slithered out from underneath my bed and and stood tall to match my eye level.

"_It would seem Mira is right_," he said, "_You always did have a hard time not seducing people. I've taught you well Mistress._"

"I don't recall you ever teaching me how to seduce men," I grumbled, taking a sip from the bottle. "Besides, nothing's going to happen."

"_Denial. It's a humorous trait you humans have._"

"I'm not even sure if what Mira said is absolutely true. Even if it is, yeah I'm denying it but for a good reason obviously."

"_And just what would that be?_" he asked.

"When you think about it, Mira said that this kind of thing happens all the time in guilds right? Well what do you think happens when they break up? One person finds someone else to love, either within the guild or otherwise, and if the other person doesn't, they become miserable watching them be happy. It can get so bed that eventually, that person has to quit the guild! I don't want that to happen to me or Gray."

"_I see_," Rogue hissed. "_You haven't thought that deeply about other people's feelings like that in a long time have you?_"

"Yup and that's what this bottle is for," I said taking a nice long sip of the champagne.

Eventually, I had gone to bed in a drunken slumber, though I didn't wake up with a hangover. I had this strange feeling, that something was going to happen on the day of the festival.

A few days later, it was the day of the harvest festival. The streets of Magnolia were lined up and down on both sides with vendors for food, decorations, and festival favors. There were streamers and balloons of every color that decorated almost every building, and confetti sprinkled the ground like colorful snowflakes. Everyone around was happy, laughing and running around, spending their money as they pleased. I however, was supposed to meet up with my friends so we could head to the guild for some contest thing. I had no idea what it was, so it was a surprise.

"Hey over here!" I heard a familiar voice call. It was Gray. He waved me over to where he, Lucy and Natsu were. Natsu was busy trying to eat everything from every single food vendor, while Happy was flying around, monitoring him.

"You made it!" Lucy squealed as she hugged me. When we puled apart Gray was behind her, and he gave me a hug too. I decided that I wasn't about to let what Mira and I talked about get in the way of our friendship.

I hugged him back saying, "Yeah, you'd think I'd get an earlier heads up than Happy flying outside my bedroom window."

"Haha sorry about that," Gray said, "but we thought that since it's you and Lucy's first Harvest Festival, I could show you two ladies around or something."

"Funny thing," I said, "it's not my first Harvest Festival. I visited Magnolia a few times when I was younger before moving here. Mostly, we only came for the Harvest Festival."

"Really?" Gray asked, a bit disappointed. "Then you must know about all the contests and stuff that happens around here."

"Yeah," Lucy chimed in, "there are the game booths, mini challenges, even the Miss Fairy Tail contest held at the gui- shit!"

"What is it?" I asked, never having heard Lucy swear before.

"I'm in the Miss Fairy Tail contest! Sorry I can't hang out with you guys, I have to get ready. Later!" She dashed away in the direction of the guild. That left me alone. With Gray.

"So…" he began, "where's Rogue?"

"He's with Natsu and Happy, see?" I said, pointing to a food vendor who cowered as Rogue held open his mouth for food. "He'll be fine."

"I see, so um, since Lucy bailed on us for some contest, and Natsu, Happy and Rogue seem busy pigging out, maybe we could, hang out together?" Gray asked hesitantly.

"Yeah that'd be alright, where should we head first?" I asked smiling. We're just checking out the festival together, no harm in that.

"No that's not what I meant," he whispered. "I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner later on, you know after the parade and everything."

I stopped. No, no this isn't happening. "What are you saying?"

"It's not a date or anything if that's what you're thinking!" he said quickly. "I just want to sit down and talk to you more, you know like at the Black Rose."

"Oh then why didn't you just say you wanted to get a bite to eat after the parade?" I asked, trying to brush it off.

He smirked. "Just wanted to see your reaction. And it worked." He began to walk ahead of me a skip in his step, forcing me to run and catch up.

The guild was packed with wizards and regular people, shouting and cheering when e arrived. IIt was almost impossible to find a place to sit, let alone stand. We sat near the front at a table right in the middle of the guild that no one had thought of taking yet. Nastu, Gray, and I had sat down, while warren stood to the side. God this was going to be boring, Besides Lucy, I wonder who else entered the contest? Mira for sure, she was born for these kinds of things. Cana? She'd need the money to buy more booze. Bisca would probably enter, you know just for kicks I guess.

My questions were answered when Max appeared on stage and announced each girl one by one. Cana came out and using her card magic, was instantly sporting a nice bikini. The next contestant shocked me a bit. It was Juvia! Her body turned into water and suddenly she was in a swimsuit too. Her body's made of water! Dammit. Juvia looked over drown until she came across us. She flashed a smile at Gray and some sinister smirk at me. SUddenly I felt myself grab Gray's arm, pull him towards me and wink at her. No one else noticed it, but there was a bit of shock on her face.

Next up was Mira who, though being a swimsuit model, transformed her head to look like Happy's! I thought I would die of laughter at how shocked everyone else was, thinking she'd wear some sexy costume. After I got my laughs out, a flash of red came out of nowhere and Erza was standing right on stage. She requipped into this gothic lolita outfit which I thought was pretty cute. After Erza came Levy and Bisca. Levy performed her solid script magic and Bisca came out in a bikini and performed her guns magic. Finally, Lucy came out on stage.

She was wearing a blue cheerleading outfit, but before she could even perform, some chick in glasses wearing green showed up. She had a side ponytail, oval shaped glasses, and her green dress really helped hold up her large breasts. She had these weird looking purple wings that were limp behind her back, that I'm guessing were movable. I wasn't really paying attention, but I think she was talking about how she was the winner of the contest or something. I wasn't really sure, but when I heard Gray yell, "Lucy watch out!" I knew she was dangerous.

This woman, whom I learned was named Evergreen, lifted her glasses and suddenly, Lucy turned to stone. Immediately everyone who wasn't a Fairy Tail wizard began rushing out of the building. This Evergreen chick couldn't have been an enemy because she had a Fairy Tail insignia as well. So why did she just attack Lucy, her comrade?

Makarov stepped up, questioning her actions. "What do you think you're doing Evergreen? You'll ruin the festival!"

"On the contrary Master," she replied, "I think things are getting pretty interesting." As she said this, the curtain behind her raised, and revealed every other contestant, like Lucy, turned to stone.

So much for an exciting day at the festival.

**Wow! I wonder if you can guess what'll happen at this dinner date of our two main characters! Will be a regular dinner between two friends full of laughter and innocent happiness? Or will it be a night filled with romance and passion? *gasp* I've said too much. Anyway, like the Phantom Lord Arc I'll try to shorten this as much as possible because, I'm as excited as you guys are to see Raphael's costume. Er, well read about it and use my imagination. Also, did you like Mira's diagnosis of Gray and Raphael's relationship? I felt it was very true to happen to everyday people. That's what happens in guilds a lot right? lucy's parents met at a guild, it must've happened to them. Anyways, review to your hearts content. Or better yet, favorite the story AND review, you guys do that, but forget the review part. Make this a popular OC story!**


	15. Serpent's Song

It was bad enough that I had to worry about my date tonight with Gray. Now I have to worry about getting Lucy and the others turned back their original forms. Makarov was really pissed at Evergreen, using her powers to turn the other girls into stone. Really, what was going on here? My question was answered when a bright light shone down from the ceiling and appearing from it came Laxus Dreyar. Makarov's grandson. He had spiky yellow hair with a lightning bolt shaped scar over his right eye. He wore this dark fur lined coat around his shoulders with a purple silk shirt. He also wore sound pods, a pair of magical headphones. Lightning cracked around which, just from guessing was his magic ability.

Laxus wore this sadistic smile on his face looking at everyone be confused. There were two other weirdos in the corner. The one on the left I heard Gray call Freed. He had long green hair with bangs, two strands of his hair poking out like little, lightning bolt shaped devil horns. Underneath his left eye there was a small mole. He too wore a coat, one that was a dark red color with a belt. On his side he held a sword. The other weird guy was…well the very definition of weird. He wore Medieval style clothes, black with thin white stripes and a light purple waistguard with a large black "X". His helmet covered his eyes and left the rest of his face alone. He was surrounded by little floating dolls, and when he stuck out his tongue, his guildmark was on it! I felt this little shudder that you get when you're being sexually harassed, and Bicklow's tongue gave me that feeling.

"You better play nice if you want these ladies to join the parade," Laxus smirked. The bright light appeared again and a bolt of lightning shot out of it, almost hitting Lucy.

"In other words I'm taken' all of them hostage," he grinned, putting an arm around Lucy's statue. "Break the rules and these girls'll get shattered one by one."

"Laxus I'm serious, quit screwing around!" Makarov shouted.

"I've always wondered who was the strongest in the guild," Freed said, jumping onto the stage. "Now it's time to find out."

"Yeah let's have some fun!" Bickslow said, his floating dolls repeating, "Fun! Fun!"

"There's only one rule," Laxus announced. "Who's ever left standing in the end is the winner. It's a Fairy Tail battle royal." With that, there was a flash of lightning and Laxus disappeared along with the rest of his lackeys. Fight, or my friends stay statues. Knowing those odds, there was a tingly feeling in my stomach and I had to restrain myself from laughing. I was going to fight.

"_Mistress, you aren't really going to participate in this bull are you_?" Rogue asked. "_You know how you get during fights. These people are your side, don't hurt them_."

"Oh I'm participating alright," I grinned, "but I won't beat them within an inch of their lives. I'll just, stop them from hurting me. And I don't need to use magic for that. You have to fight too you know."

"_I don't fight, I attack and kill,_" he answered haughtily.

"Fine then. Don't fight, but protect me, as is your purpose." He nodded.

Rogue and I were so busy talking, that we almost didn't notice when everyone else had stormed out of the guild. It was obvious that they either didn't understand what they had to do, or they understood and knew what would happen. Laxus and his team wanted us to fight each other and him and his team. If that weren't bad enough, I'm betting the last person left has to fight Laxus which, judging by how defiant he is against his own grandfather, won't be easy. I'm thinking I'll be pulling out of this fight soon, considering there'll be members of Fairy Tail littered all over the city knocked unconscious.

We, well I, strolled behind the huge mob of wizards, taking my precious time, wanting to ruin my day as little as possible. Rogue slithered behind, watching for anyone who'd be dumb enough to try to attack me. If anyone tried to attack me I'd hear their heart beating and within seconds I'd attack them, startling them thinking they'd had one up on me. Or I could pretend not to hear them following me and when they attack, I stop them in one fell swoop. It was a brilliant plan. Though, I still needed to think what would happen if I myself came upon another wizard. Oh well, not using magic has its perks, especially when fighting wizards. They have no idea how to attack it, something so physical and not magical.

Ancient fighting techniques in which I barely have to lift a finger? Well I have to, and if I hit too hard I might kill, paralyze or do something to them. But the point is, they can't move. We fought, I won. So that means I'm following the rules right? Besides, I feel like this game's more complicated than it looks. Now that I'm actually thinking about the possibilities of getting attacked, I was kinda glad most of my friends would be out of it. Fighting Lucy or Levy would just be plain mean, fighting Erza or Miria would be a death wish, I could probably take Cana and Bisca but then I'd feel bad about it later. Fighting Juvia…I really wouldn't know how to feel about that. She's pretty annoying and pisses me off from time to time, but I don't hate her. She hasn't given me a reason too.

Thinking of fighting my friends, I thought about what'd happen if I'd have to fight Elfman or Natsu. I feel like Elfman would let me win, just in that chivalrous sense because I'm a girl. Natsu on the other hand wouldn't care. He kind of enjoys fighting a bit too much for me. I think I'd end up healing him after fighting him! But I don't think I'd really want to fight the kid anyway. I've never really fought an elemental mage, and thinking about it now, I'd lose. Speaking of which, wouldn't that mean I'd have to fight Gray too? Interesting…what would it be like to fight a guy I subconsciously want sexually? Would be like, foreplay or something? Eew, what am I thinking? I'm reading too much into something and turning it into one of my romance novels. But Gray and I don't fight like opposites, nor are we attracted to each other.

If we were opposites, would we be like those couples who fight but then start having hot make out sessions? Or the kind that fight all the time, but are actually having a behind the scenes passionate tryst? EEw! What the hell is wrong with me? I don't want to make out with Gray. Not that I'm saying he's a bad kisser, I mean I wouldn't know, I've never kissed the guy. I should stop thinking about this before someone really sneaks up on me.

Like right now. Just as I left my thoughts I heard it, heard his heartbeat and his quick foot steps as he came running up on me. He tried to jump on top of me, bring me down, but I grabbed his arm and flipped him over, watching him skid across the concrete.

"Hey, you're that healer chick right?' he asleep standing up. His jacket fell off and I saw his bright yellow guild mark.

"Yeah, but healing isn't my specialty," I answered. "Glad you got up, I thought this was going to be too easy."

"Clearly you haven't seen my kind of magic," he said, charging right at me. There was a yellow magic circle and suddenly there 10 more of him. Huh, duplication magic, don't see much of that everyday.

They circled me, taunting to figure out which one was real. This was easy. It may be magic, but duplicates or clones, don't have heartbeats to keep them going. It's the caster's magic energy that helps them move. Meaning whoever breathes first…found him! I held out both of my arms, and with my fingers, brought every clone _except _the real guy down to their knees. And then I brought my fingers in and pulled. Since they weren't real they wouldn't agonize in pain on the floor before evidently being killed, but instead, disappear. It would be just like if I had attacked them full on. Now all that's left is this guy.

He almost ran away, taking a step back as I stepped forward. Oh god, this was too exciting.

"Don't worry I won't hurt you, those were just clones, and I promise they didn't feel a thing," I drawled, nearing closer. I was close enough to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder before I pulled my hand back and hit him really hard in his solar plexus. He held his stomach area and coughed before I pinched the side of his neck and watch him fall into unconsciousness. He wasn't dead, oh no, he was just taking a little nap. I walked away from his body like it was nothing. Good thing we weren't in a dark alley, his body might've never been found!

"_You seem to be enjoying yourself_," Rogue hissed.

"Yeah, but he was too easy to figure out," I answered. "Let's see, 19 more opponents and we'll drop out?" He nodded at my decision and we walked on.

XXXXXxXxXXxxxxxxxxx

*FLASHBACK*

_It was difficult for me to learn spells. I didn't learn them in English, oh no, I had to learn an entire foreign language called Latin before I even learned magic spells! Almost all Morphomagus Blood Mage spells were in Latin, all except the most simplest of them. It was the very first one I learned before I got Rogue. Even before we were bound to each other, I had to learn all these spells in order to prepare for whatever he would teach me. After being bound to him for a few years, my training had advanced with both Rogue and my father._

_My father taught me all about human pressure points, where they're located and what they do. Evidently it was something I would use if I wasn't aiming to kill or severely hurt my opponent. I studied and memorized charts and practiced on dummies. Finally, I had to actually use my newly learned skill. ruing a spar with Ezekiel, I dodged most of his attacks, and hit four pressure points on one side of his body, making him limp and paralyzed on that one side. _

_"Hey why can't I move?" he screamed._

_"It's a new technique daddy taught me," I answered. "You should learn it too, it's really fun."_

_"You know ever since you got that snake you get more and more satisfied with causing people pain," he murmured. "Maybe you're a sadist."_

_"So what if I laugh a bit if other people scream in pain," I said, helping him up. "Doesn't make me a sadist."_

_"Yeah it does," he answered. "But whatever. So is that all for training?"_

_"Nope. Remember, tonights one of my Animal Instinct training sessions again," I drawled._

_"Really? Didn't you already learn to see in pure darkness, hear with your eyes, see with your ears kind of thing? What else is there? I know you already knew about __motus pulsantem__, you could've only learned that from dad."_

_"He wasn't really specific," I said softly. "You know how Rogue is, he likes being cryptic. Something about a spell that sees all? I don't know, it was about snakes."_

_"Spell that sees all, spell that see all," Ezekiel repeated softly. "I know I've heard that somewhere in that book dad has. You know, the one and only copy made?"_

_"Yeah what about it? Think it has something do with tonight's training?"_

_"We'll just have to find out for ourselves won't we? You can set me down here," he said as we reached the house. I helped as gently as I possibly could to make sure I didn't drop him. The effects of the pressure point technique should be wearing off by now._

_I walked into the house, leaving Ezekiel alone on the porch. I went up the stairs into my room to rest a bit before training. God knows Rogue would like to have me out there in the woods all night if he could. __He's__ the sadist. I lied down on my bed, thinking that I would rest for about an hour or so before dinner. However, that didn't go as planned and 3 hours later, was awoken in the rudest way possible. That sadistic snake of mine took his tongue and gave my cheek a nice long lick. I screeched, jumping out of bed, a few feet from where i'd been sleeping._

_"That's disgusting!" I hollered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_"__I thought that since your brother told you I'm more or less of a pet, I'd act like one__, " he hissed. "__I'm just acting like a cute puppy, licking his master from slumber.__"_

_"Yeah well, just because Zeke said it doesn't mean I believe it," I said. "Why not lick him?"_

_"__Oh believe me__," he said, a creepy twinkle in his eye, "__ I got my revenge__."_

_"I'm not even going to ask," I murmured leaving my room, Rogue slithering behind me. I yawned and stretched as I went down stairs, and saw that food was on the table, hot and ready for me to eat it. But there was only one place set up. Maybe Ezekiel and Dad decided I'd eat when I woke up. I made my way over to the table and when I was about to sit down, I fell. Rogue had pulled the chair back with his tail and let me fall._

_"Hey what's the big idea?" I asked._

_"__It's pitch black outside__," he said calmly. "__The perfect environment for your training. You can eat when we're done.__"_

_"Wait, but where are Dad and Ezekiel? Aren't they usually part of this in some way?"_

_"__For today__," he answered, "__no. This isn't something your family can help you with. They will be watching you from their windows as you venture into and out of the forest. But don't worry, it won't take long__."_

_"Good," I said, "because I've been waiting to see what this is all about. Plus I'm starving."_

_We walked out of the comfort of my home (at the time) and into the brisk forest. It was the end of fall, and all the leaves were falling off, my feet making a crunching sound as I walked on them. We must've been out here for 10 minutes before we actually came to a stop. There was a small clearing, a patch of dry land with a dead log on it. Thankfully it hadn't rained recently, so the log hadn't been made into a habitat of a thousand insects. Anyway I sat down on the log while Rogue, stood by it, and judging by his eyes he was thinking about something. And that's when he started to talk._

_"__There's a very special form of magic that you can perform. It's special because only Morphormagus Blood mages who have been bound to Blood Vipers have this power, meaning your father couldn't have taught you anyway, one of the reasons why he isn't here__," Rogue began. "__It's a rare spell among our kind, a spell that sees all, a spell that nullifies all controlling, hypnotic spells. Mistress, do you know how these kinds of spells work__?"_

_"Uh…your eyes?" I guess, but then figured it was the right answer. "People who use hypnotic magic use your eyes, windows to your soul and mind to control you with their magic. You're going to teach me a spell to nullify that kind of attack against me?"_

_"__Yes. This is my final question to ask of you. What do people who use hypnotic magic use to hypnotize others__?"_

_"They either use magical items or mainly..their eyes!" I exclaimed. "You're going to teach me how to use special magic with my eyes!"_

_He nodded, laughing to himself a bit. "__Yes I am. This spell works all the time, you would barely use any of the magic running through your veins, and it's very easy to call upon.__" I nodded waiting for him to get to the good part._

_"Yeah yeah, so what's it called?"_

_"__It's called the Serpent's Song or in Latin, Cantu Serpentis. It is the spell that sees all, the spell that analyzes all. It analyzes all magic to see their true intent, almost a lie-detector test. Even lying, you can detect on. Mainly that is it's use, to gather information. If you have your enemy cornered, you can use this spell to question them. Using this spell they will not be able to resist telling you the information you want to hear. However, this spell has many, many uses other than that__."_

_"Ok, so what else do you use it for?" I asked._

_"__Serpent's Song can also be use for torture, the origin of your magic. If your captive wishes to lie to you, you can use this spell to give them a little, ah encouragement. Don't worry you won't accidentally splatter any brains or any nonsense like that. To them, it'll feel like the most painful migraine they've ever experienced, like when Athena burst from that of Zeus's head.__"_

_"Very..descriptive," I said once he was done. "So, what's the incantation. Don't tell me, it's in Latin right?"_

_"__You would be correct on that one__," he said smiling. "__The words are__:"_

_Colubram bene novit iter serpentes : Cantu Serpentis!_

_"Hmm and that translates too.." and I trailed off thinking about it in my head, "a snake knows the path of serpents well. Huh, no wonder Dad couldn't have taught it."_

_"__Indeed__," he hissed. "__Now try saying it. I have no one for you to practice on, but you'll feel it's magic the minute it begins working.__"_

_I closed my eyes and breathed deeply reciting the spell:_

_Colubram bene novit iter serpentes: Cantu Serpentis!_

_The minute those words left my lips, I felt my pulse quicken and a new sensation run through my body. A sensation of clarity. Because I had nothing to practice on, my abilities to use this new spell were limited. I looked at Rogue and he nodded with satisfaction._

_"Hey," I said," what do my eyes look like? Whenever I use magic, they change color. Are they red?"_

_He shook his head. "__ when you usually use your powers,Serpent's Song does not change the color of your eyes. Instead right now your violet red eyes, are glowing.__"_

_"Cool," I nodded. "So how do I turn it off?"_

_"__Just close your eyes and the feeling will stop__." I did as he said and the pulsing feeling subsided, and I was back to my normal self. Wow, the energy and power I felt was incredible. If only I could use on someone. Ah well, it'll come in handy in the future._

_We walked back through the dark forest and finally made it back home. I broke into a sprint when I saw that the porch light was on and I practically broke down the door. I may not have done any thing physical, but I was starving!_

*END FLASHBACK*

XXXXXxXxXxxxXxxxxXxXXXX

Wow, the girl I was fighting had some real skill. Her wooden statues were appearing out of nowhere, so I had to move fast. I think I remembered her name….Laki? She was part of this group of girls who were normally shorter than everyone else like Levy, except she had somewhat of a chest. Her normally long purple hair was cut into this little cute bob which looked cute with her red bow. I jumped out of the way of a giant wooden Buddha. Dammit! Instead of complimenting her outfit I need to be paying attention on fighting her. She was the last person I needed to fight before I dropped out willingly.

I need to strategize. Every time I moved to get to her, she'd block me with some freaky wooden thing. If only I could bulldoze my way through…that's it!

"Rogue!" I shouted, and he was immediately by side.

"_Yes_?" he asked.

"Every time she sends a statue my way, destroy it," I told him. "I have a plan that'll end this quickly."

"Hey enough chit chat!" Laki shouted. "I've got a battle to win!"

"You're very confident," I said, taking my position. "Sorry, but I'll be knocking you out of this competition."

"You'll be the one who gets knocked down!" And immediately I was surrounded by large wooden statues who were charging right at me. Just as I planned. Just as Laki's statues started to come after me, they began to disappear into dust one by one. With his fangs beard and his mouth opened as wide as he could open it, Rogue tore through every single one of those statues like a cold blooded bulldozer.

"Wha-?" Laki yelled. "What's he doing to my statues?" While she was so busy twisting her head this way and that to watch Rogue destroy her precious statues, I ran right up the middle and attacked. It was a dirty trick I know, but while her defensive was being ripped to shreds, it was a perfect time for me to make the offensive. I flexed out my fingers and curled them a bit, almost like I was holding a cup. Laki's body instantly went still and the confused look on her face was priceless.

"What did you do to me?" she cried.

"Come on kid, this is the battle of Fairy Tail," I said as I hit all the pressure points on her right side. Before she ultimately fell onto the ground, I gave the bottom part of her head that meets her neck a nice could hit before watching her collapse on the ground. "There aren't many rules."

I made my way back to the guildhall as any normal person would. I walked. Well really I dodged anyone else who might be in the game. I was _not_ in the mood to fight anymore, I hadn't even really been trying. Of all my opponents, I probably used my magic on 7 of them, if it was really necessary. Really, all I did was use my pressure point techniques and knocked them out on the ground. They would wake up probably ten minutes later, I wasn't sure how long it would take. But really, I couldn't use my magic on people who were on my side that would be cruel. Besides, what could I have against people who tolerate the fact that they have someone who practices dark magic into their guild?

When I got to the entrance, I saw Natsu leaning on some kind of invisible wall, and it looked like he was trying to push himself out.

"Hey guys!" he shouted. "It's Raphael. Hi raphael!"

"Hi Natsu," I waved back as I strolled right in. There didn't seem to be an invisible wall for me.

"What are you doing here?" Makarov asked. He looked up behind me, and I could see there was a wall of purple runes behind me. I wsn't very good at reading runes, so I never really tried to learn.

"Just now it said Raphael vs. Laki," Makarov said. "And now it's updating to say: Raphael vs. Laki. The winner is: Raphael. You finished that quickly?"

"I think I know how to take on wood," I scoffed. "Sorry, but for me, she wasn't much of a challenge."

"You didn't-" he started but I cut him off.

"Before you start I barely used magic in all of my fights. Right now most of my opponents are waking up from their little naps I put them in. Secret technique."

"Secret technique?" Nastu piped up. "I wanna learn it!"

"I'll teach you later," I laughed. "Anyway, what's got you guys stuck here? I would've thought you'd be the first one out there Natsu."

"Yeah I would be, but Laxus had Freed put it in the stupid runes that dragon slayers can't participate. Meaning we-" he pointed at him and Gajeel "-can't participate."

"Wish you could take my place," I sighed sitting down. "I'm dropping out. As if this moment this game just got dull for me."

"That's a shame, I think I'll need a bit of help in defeating Laxus," a strong voice said. I turned around and there before me stood Erza in her gothic lolita outfit, no longer turned to stone.

"Yeah see, that's going to be a problem," I said. "I'm no weakling or anything, but I'd rather not be electrocuted to death."

She laughed a hearty laugh. "That's not what I'm asking. See, no one knows where Laxus is except the Thunder Legion. So, help me defeat and capture a member so that we can force them into leaking out his location. I could use your magic abilities.

Before I could answer, Makarov spoke. "I know you would like her help and all Erza, but I don't think you understand. Raphael's magic is not something to play with. You were listening weren't you? She can't fight to her full extent against the others because she might really hurt one of them."

"I know Master Makarov," she said solemnly. She turned to look at me directly. "Lucy told me what you did to Sherry on Galuna island, and from her description it sounds pretty painful. All I ask is that you detain them as we question them. Nothing more."

"Paralyzation?" I sneered. "That's way too easy. But since you're asking I guess I can do you one last favor."

She nodded. "Good. We need to find one of them as quickly as possible. Be careful of their eyes though, each member of the Thunder Legion has special optic abilities.

I smirked. "Oh don't worry. I have special optic abilities myself."

We'd been running round for 10 minutes before we really saw anything. All around us were minority destroyed buildings and members of our guild sitting against walls and moaning in pain at their injuries. A few of them I'd actually fought myself. They, luckily were only waking up from unconsciousness, a state I had temporarily put all my opponents in to spare them. As we looked there was something bothering me.

"Why'd you want to fight with me?" I blurted out as we walked.

"Because out of all the people in the guild hall you and your snake were the only ones who could still participate in the fight," she answered not turning around to look at me.

"Wow, nice to know I'm that useful in your time of need," I grumbled. "But seriously, I'm pretty sure you could take on one member of the Thunder Legionall by yourself. I hate to admit it, but you're strong enough for that. So really, why did you ask me to help you?"

"Because you saved me," she whispered. "You took my body and you jumped from a collapsing building. You dragged me all the way to safety even though with my wounds, I got up and fought. But if you hadn't done all that I could've…."

"Hey," I whispered, "don't mention it. Just because I wasn't your biggest fan at the time doesn't mean I'm cruel enough to just let an unconscious person be crushed and ultimately killed by a crumbling building."

"And…even though I said we weren't friends that was a lie," she said. "That conversation we had..no one has ever talked to me like that in a long time. Even as children, Mira never criticized me like you did."

"Uh, um sorry about that," I said sheepishly. Man this was awkward.

"You are very intriguing of a person Raphael. Again, I hadn't been spoken to like that in ages. I first I felt insulted about the things you were saying, but then…your speech about arrogance got to me. I am arrogant lots of times, and you were the only one who called me out on it."

"I want to be friends with you," she said after a moment. "We share mutual friends, so why can't we be friends ourselves?" She held out her hand..and I shook it.

Something glittered in the corner of my eye and hundreds of little glowing bullets were shot at us. When we recovered, someone, a woman was laughing. It was Evergreen.

"What a heartfelt reunion!" she cooed. "But I don't have time to listen to your gushy friendship talk. Fight me!" She shot her Fairy Bullets at us again, this time we dodged it.

"You know what to do," Erza shouted at me as she ran after Evergreen. I nodded and took my position behind the building where we would capture her. Using her swords, era slashed away meticulously and quickly at the bullets. Evergreen flew away, toying with Erza and even tried to turn her back to stone again. It didn't work as I ear something about an "artificial eye" but I thought nothing of it. They flew closer to my position and I saw how Evergreen doubled the amount of her bullets, making it harder for Erza to dodge them. But that Erza, boy is she flu of surprises. She requipped two more swords that she held with her feet! She was repelling bullets and sword fighting with her feet!

It was too incredible to watch, and soon it was over when she threw her two swords that she held with her feet and pinned Evergreen to the wall I was hiding behind. That was my cue. I came from behind the wall and smiled sweetly, confusing her. Then I punched the entire right side of her body full of pressure points.

"Hey!" she screamed. "I-I can't move my right arm. Or my right leg! What'd you do to me?!"

I pulled the swords away from her and watched as she fell right on her ass. I grabbed her by her ponytail and began to drag her. "I paralyzed half of your body, so now only have of you can really move. Now you know what a statue feels like, partially anyway.

"Where are you going?" Erza asked. "We need to ask her where Laxus is."

"Oh I'm going to do just that," I answered. I dropped Evergreen and moved closer to Erza. "We need to make sure she isn't bullshitting us, else we'll get nowhere and Laxus will be hiding forever. I'll bring her back to the guild where she'll change the girls back, and as soon as I find out where Laxus is, I'll send you a message. Deal?"

"Deal," she nodded. I let her have a chat with Evergreen before she took off. Then I grabbed Evergreen by her ponytail again, and I dragged on.

XXXxxxXXXXxxxxXXxxXxXx

I dragged Evergreen all the way back to the guild by her hair. I didn't care how other people stared and gawked at me. I was going to do this. By the time we reached the guild, her paralysis from my pressure point technique had worn off, and she'd been resorting to how much pain she'd been in. Her whining got attention from the others in the guild.

"Raphael!" The Master exclaimed. "Where's Erza? Why do you have Evergreen?"

I pulled Evergreen all the way to a decorated column where I sat her up, making sure she would be able to look up. "I have some questions for her, and she's going to answer them truthfully."

I crouched down until I was at eye level with Evergreen. "Now girly, tell me where Laxus is."

She smirked and her hand raised to pull off her glasses, just like I assumed she would. "You must be pretty slow," she said, "most people avoid looking me in the eye, if you haven't noticed." She was talking about the statues.

When her glasses were lifted, her eyes glowed green, but nothing happened to me. She froze, and she kept trying to use Stone eyes on me over and over again, but it wouldn't work.

"What, what are you? Why won't my magic work? What did you do to me?" she demanded, and I laughed darkly at her fear and cowardice.

"Oh you're magic's working," I replied, "it's just not working on me. See I have a special eye trick too. It's called the Serpent's Song."

"The Serpent's Song?" Makarov repeated. "The spell that sees all."

"What is that old man blabbering about?" Evergreen screeched.

"I'm already using it," I said. "Just not to it's full extent. See, Serpent's Song is a special optical spell that only Morphomagus Blood mages bound to snakes can learn. I've practiced it dozens of times, and now it's so automatic that I can barely tell when I'm using it."

"Y-You're protected against my Stone eyes?" she asked, barely able to comprehend something so possible. "But how?"

"The spell that sees all? Serpent's Song nullifies all hypnotic, controlling and optical illusion magics. That's what I was told anyway. I guess it nullifies against your Stone yes too. Isn't that great?"

Before she could answer, I repeated the spell so that I could thoroughly question Evergreen.

_Colubram bene novit iter serpentes: Cantu Serpentis!_

I could feel the power growing from behind my eyes, and soon, Evergreen was truly scared.

"Now," I said once more, "where is Laxus?"

She looked over to the side saying, "He's somewhere safe from the likes of you!"

"Wrong answer," I growled, and I looked her dead in the eyes. She started to scream in pain and when it was over, shook with tiny convulsions.

"Raphael!" Makarov shouted. "Don't over do it! You're on the same side."

"Unfortunately," I murmured. "Let's try again, and look me in the eyes when you give me the _right_ answer. Where is Laxus?"

"He-He's in a sanctuary where no one would dare touch him," she's breathed. "It would be a sin to even try to attack him."

"God you really do enjoy torture," and I hit her again, this time with a little less power on Makarov's behalf.

"Stop it!" she screamed. "Stop! He's in a church, a church! Kardia Cathedral."

I smiled sweetly saying, "There that's all you had to say. Now before you evidently faint from all the pain and turn the girls back I have one more request."

She looked at me strange, like she didn't trust me before nodding. "I leaned in close whispering deathly in her ear, "If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will _not_ go easy on you. Serpent's Song isn't _half_ of the pain I could cause you. If you weren't part of Fairy Tail and if Makarov and everyone hadn't been watching, I would've tortured just a bit more. Don't cross me. Ever."

I pulled away and watched before she collapsed in total fear as the girls changed back one by one, breaking from their stone prisons. Well, we could do without half of them being in swimsuits but as long as they were ok (though I would've preferred if Juvia stayed stone).

"Are you guys alright?" I asked panting. Wow, I think I may have been a bit too rough there.

"Yeah we're good," Mira said. "So what's happening?" I explained to her as quickly as possible what was going on. Dammit, my head hurts.

"That's awful!" Levy cried.

"Yeah well, that just means we're entered in the game to right?" Cana asked. "Let's go kick some Thunder Legion ass!"

Honestly, it's very concerning how these girl can just swear all they want, but look the way they do. I felt a slight, sharp pain in y head and I put my hand too it. Fuck, I really over did it this time. I thought I heard them all start to wonder where Laxus was, but I couldn't tell them because everything was spinning and then, nothing.


End file.
